Salford City Reds v Celtic Crusaders preview

Super League's newest faces will battle it out for a place in the Co-operative National League One Grand Final live on Sky Sports on Thursday (kick-off 7.30pm UK time).

The winners of the match go straight through to the Grand Final on September 28th in Warrington but the losers will have a second chance to qualify with a home game against either Halifax or Whitehaven probably on Thursday 18th September in a game that again is expected to be live on Sky Sports.

Both Salford City Reds and Celtic Crusaders have been awarded three-year engage Super League licences starting from 2009 but both are desperate to clinch the Co-operative National League One title this season.

The fact that the Crusaders finished second in the league table and are just one game away from the National League One Grand Final is testament to the excellent performances that they have put in all season.

In only their third season in existence and in their first season in National League One, their record has been outstanding producing one of the best ever records by a promoted club in the history of rugby league.

Two promoted clubs have earned third placed finishes in the past - Hull FC in the old First Division in 1979-80 after promotion as champions the season before and Huddersfield in the old Second Division in 1992-93 after finishing top in the old Third in the previous year.

Crusaders and Salford are both going into this match with full-strength squads.

Each have named 19 players. Salford just add Lee Jewitt and Jason Walton to the side that lost to the Crusaders in August while Crusaders do similar adding Darren Mapp and Neale Wyatt.

Mapp, the co-operative National League One player of the month for August, missed the 20-10 win over Salford at the Brewery Field almost three weeks ago, which was the last outing for both clubs, while Wyatt is returning after a lay-off of over two months.

The loose forward has made just 12 outings for the Crusaders this season due to injury and has recently undergone a successful knee operation. The man commonly known as