Aiming to bounce back from a midweek defeat and return to the top six of the League One table, Bolton Wanderers will travel to Oakwell to take on Barnsley on Saturday.
The visitors trail the final playoff place by two points, while their visitors have dropped into the bottom half following consecutive defeats.
Match preview
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Barnsley head into the weekend aiming to end a seven-match winless run in League One and a poor run under the temporary stewardship of Conor Hourihane.
A dismal run early in the new year saw the South Yorkshire outfit drop out of the playoff places, with back-to-back losses in early March spelling the end of Darrell Clarke‘s tenure as manager.
Conor Hourihane then took charge with the Reds sat on 52 points from 36 outings, and they have since seen any top-six hopes fade away having failed to record a victory in five further attempts, beginning life under Hourihane with a loss to Mansfield Town and draws with Cambridge United and Wigan Athletic.
A 2-1 home loss to Exeter City followed at the weekend, before they most recently visited leaders Birmingham City on Saturday and succumbed to a 6-2 beating, despite drawing level at a goal apiece and reducing a deficit to 3-2 on the hour mark through Davis Keillor-Dunn and Stephen Humphrys.
Having now dropped into the bottom half after consecutive top-six finishes in England’s third tier, albeit only trailing Rotherham United on goal difference, Barnsley will hope to bounce back with a home victory on Saturday and kickstart an improved end to a disappointing League One campaign.
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Their visitors head to Oakwell with far more to play for at the weekend, having lost crucial ground in the playoff race last time out.
Following an underwhelming first half to their latest League One promotion bid, Bolton Wanderers turned to Steven Schumacher in February, and he has led an impressive charge towards the top six.
Indeed, from 13 league outings under their new boss, the Trotters have amassed 22 points courtesy of seven wins, most recently beating Wigan Athletic and Bristol Rovers consecutively in April to bounce back from three straight defeats.
Then heading into a home meeting with Rotherham United on Tuesday in sixth spot, the Lancashire outfit failed to make it three wins on the bounce, as the visitors left the Toughsheet Community Stadium with all three points thanks to a solitary Sam Nombe goal in the 11th minute.
Now sitting outside of the playoff places again, two points behind sixth-placed Reading with five games remaining, Bolton Wanderers will be desperate to get back on track with a return to winning ways at Oakwell on Saturday.
Team News
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Barnsley will remain without first and second-choice goalkeepers Joe Gauci and Jackson Smith due to ongoing injuries, meaning Kieran Flavell will continue between the sticks.
They also head into the weekend without important defender Mael de Gevigney, who is suspended after being sent off inside three minutes of last weekend’s loss to Birmingham City, while Josh Earl, Barry Cotter, Josh Benson, Neil Farrugia and Georgie Gent are sidelined by injuries.
Connor Barratt may deputise in a back three alongside Marc Roberts and Conor McCarthy, while Stephen Humphrys and Davis Keillor-Dunn should continue in attack after both getting on the scoresheet in that game, with the latter taking his tally to 16 goals for the season.
Bolton Wanderers continue to deal with several injury issues of their own, with William Forrester, Eoin Toal, Victor Adeboyejo and Szabolcs Schon set to miss out again.
Aaron Collins will continue to lead the line having netted a team-high tally of 18 goals this season and should again be joined by John McAtee, who has netted 12 goals this term after notching up 15 in a loan spell with Saturday’s hosts last season.
Joel Randell and Kyle Dempsey will compete for midfield spots after Aaron Morley operated ahead of Josh Sheehan and George Thomason in Tuesday’s defeat to Rotherham, while Gethin Jones, Chris Forino-Joseph and George Johnston will hope to keep their defensive spots despite Ricardo Santos‘s return from an injury.
Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Flavell; Barratt, Roberts, McCarthy; Bland, Connell, Russell, Phillips, O’Keefe; Keillor-Dunn, Humphrys
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Jones, Johnston, Forino-Joseph; Dacres-Cogley, Sheehan, Morley, Osei-Tutu; Dempsey; McAtee, Collins
We say: Barnsley 1-2 Bolton Wanderers
Needing to quickly get their playoff bid back on track, we fancy Bolton Wanderers to come out on top against a Barnsley side who are left devoid of confidence after a dismal run in the new year and whose tally of 22 points at home this season is only better than four sides in the division.
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