Catalans really had a dig there. Michael McIlorum had his prop forward surging onto the ball - Remi Casty and Sam Moa leaving dints in the Salford line.

Penalty for interference... another six for the Dragons.

Jack Dearden
BBC Radio Manchester

That's a schoolboy error to present Catalans with the ball. It's just the sort of start Salford would not have wanted.

Shocker from Krisnan Inu. Belted out on the full.

Penalty from halfway for Catalans and they're already up and at 'em.

Here we are then.

With the knee taken, a 13-second statement against racism and other forms prejudice and discrimination - we're ready.

Ben Thaler is the man in the middle. His whistle shrills and Salford boot it downfield to get us going.

No Niall Evalds or Ken Sio for Salford, as Catalans all in black troop out onto the pitch,

The Red Devils are without 17 tries-worth of talent there.

Every game these days has decent match-ups but this one is intriguing.

I really like the look of the Catalans pack, and you know that it's been put together just to steamroller Salford. Remi Casty is a big 13, it's power rather than precision.

Salford relied on the go-forward from Gil Dudson last season and in Luke Yates they have a mobile front-rower who is a tackle-fiend.

Loves it. Seriously. 1,211 last year.

Nice night for it, just as it was at Huddersfield for the Wakefield-Giants game last night.

Sun is shining, the breeze not too bad. Full-backs will be glad to see that big ball of light dip out of sight, it can cause some problems with vision when fielding high kicks and both sides have halves with devastating kicking games.

Image source, SWPIX.COM

Israel Folau was brought to Super League in a blaze of publicity, mainly because of his trenchant views on homosexuality and same-sex marriages, and then latterly for refusing to take a knee as part of the Black Lives Matter campaign, citing his religious beliefs.

On the pitch he has shown class on occasions, particularly in two games against Castleford where he dominated, and against Hull FC where his clutch play at the end helped set up a late winning try.

Kris Welham is a tough defensive centre, and his role in keeping Folau quiet will be an interesting observation point.

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Salford have potentially landed one of the signings of the season in picking up England centre Kallum Watkins, as they seek to build on their Grand Final appearance in 2019.

The cup could be the best route to silverware for the Red Devils in 2020, with Ian Watson hoping to go one better than the semi-final defeat by Wigan they took in 2017.

Watkins, 29, was a cup winner with Leeds in 2014 and 2015 as the 'Golden Generation' finally added the big pot to their numerous Grand Final triumphs and is itching to get involved again.

"I've trained with Salford," Watkins told BBC Radio Manchester. "It's been really good, I thought I'd struggle with the training having not done contact for six months but I felt good."

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The Dragons have been 'doing it tough', to borrow some grammatically dubious rugby league parlance. They've hopped between England and France on a weekly basis since the restart, and travel from Perpignan doesn't come cheap in a pandemic; £50,000-a-pop for owner Bernard Guasch.

And yet, results on the road had been excellent - notably dumping Wakefield out of the sixth round to book their place tonight. Conversely, their vaunted homecoming before a 5,000 crowd last weekend ended with a humbling by Wigan Warriors.

Steve McNamara has already seen the catalyst-effect of a cup win, having lifted the trophy in 2018 the Dragons were then invited to play at the Nou Camp.

His side which features the firepower of Sam Tomkins, Israel Folau and the craft and guile of James Maloney, is set up to take Salford on in style.

It's been a topsy-turvy year for the competition, which went off without a hitch up to the fifth round stage.

However, coronavirus struck and left many rugby league clubs outside of the Super League without realistic means of playing on.

One rejigged draw later, and the 11 remaining top flight clubs without the withdrawn Toronto Wolfpack were handed their fate.

Hull FC and Castleford's tie was delayed by positive Covid-19 cases within the Airlie Birds' camp.

Wakefield and Catalans did get their game on, with the French club progressing to a tie with Salford.

Last weekend saw the tired Tigers and Hull finally complete their game - a second match in four days - and Hull were victorious to set up tomorrow's meeting with Wigan.

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Steve McNamara's team selection is a massive statement of intent by Catalans Dragons, as a huge pack featuring the returning Sam Moa and Michael McIlorum backs up a full-strength backs division.

England international Kallum Watkins does make his Salford debut, coming in at left centre, while Dan Sarginson covers at full-back in the absence of the injured Niall Evalds.

Catalans: S. Tomkins; Tierney, Langi, Folau, Yaha; Maloney, Drinkwater; Bousquet, McIlorum, Moa, Whitley, Garcia, Casty

Interchanges: Jullien, Baitieri, Goudemand, Kasiano

Salford: Sarginson; Inu, Welham, Watkins, Williams; Lolohea, Brown; Dudson, Lussick, Yates, Greenwood, McCarthy, Flanagan

Interchanges: Pauli, Ikahihifo, Burke, Kear

Welcome then to BBC Sport's live text commentary - and radio too of course - of the first two quarter-final ties of the weekend.

It's always a special time of the season, as the journey to Wembley gathers a bit of pace and the excitement starts to rise.

Of course, it's the start of a big weekend of league on the BBC - with Warrington versus Saints on BBC One at 14:30 BST tomorrow, and Hull FC versus Wigan following from 17:00 BST on BBC Two afterwards.

First up we see 2018 winners Catalans Dragons take on a Salford side, who have to go back the golden days of the great Gus Risman for their last triumph.

Then Leeds Rhinos face Hull KR, pitting Rovers coach Tony Smith against his old club - in a repeat of the 2015 final...

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As with many other sports, pastimes and cultural exploits, rugby league has been turned upside down in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, and yet, somehow its traditions are still surviving, in some shape or form.

The Challenge Cup is no exception. Despite the withdrawal of Toronto Wolfpack, and the clubs outside of Super League, the governing body has rallied, rejigged and reshuffled to establish some semblance of competition.

So, here's to battling on. Four of the eight quarter-finalists have the chance to take another step closer to the final tonight, and the hope of singing 'Que sera' and 'going to Wembley', springs eternal.