Preview: York City Knights v Oxford

York City Knights coach Gary Thornton will check on Iain Morrison (hamstring) and Jason Golden (shoulder) before finalising his team to face Oxford in Sunday’s Kingstone Press Championship One fixture.

The Knights lost 31-28 against Swinton last week in the Tetley’s Challenge Cup, a result Thornton is hopeful will not derail his team’s season.

Thornton said: “It’s the first time we’ve tasted defeat this year and I hope it doesn’t hit the lads too hard. The league is our priority.”

Valu Bentley is Oxford’s major doubt as he struggles to overcome a knee problem that is likely to keep him sidelined for another fortnight.

Glenn Osborn is also awaiting the results of a knee scan, but coach Tony Benson is hopeful it is not a serious problem.

Benson said: “We’ve had two weeks off now and that hasn’t helped at all, but we’ve just got to crack on.

“We won the second half of our match against Hunslet, and if we can play to that level then we’ll be pretty competitive with York this weekend. If we don’t play to that level, we’ll be in trouble.”