Barnsleyvs.Northampton

Both sides bounced back from opening-day defeats with wins last weekend, as the hosts triumphed away at Lincoln City while the visitors got the better of Exeter City.

Match preview

Following their EFL Trophy opener on Tuesday, Barnsley head back to Oakwell on Saturday with their sights set on a second straight League One victory in their third outing of the season in England's third tier.

After finishing last season under the temporary stewardship of Martin Devaney, scraping the final playoff place and suffering a 5-4 aggregate defeat to Bolton Wanderers in the semi-finals, the Reds turned to Darrell Clarke to lead them into the new campaign with the aim of making a return to the Championship at the third time of asking.

The South Yorkshire outfit would fail to get off the mark in their curtain-raiser and first competitive outing, though, as they hosted newly-promoted Mansfield Town and succumbed to a 2-1 defeat, having initially fallen 2-1 behind and then fallen short of finding a leveller after Luca Connell halved the deficit in the first half.

After bouncing back in the EFL Cup first round, travelling to Wigan Athletic and prevailing in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes, Clarke's men faced a tough trip to Lincoln City last weekend and put their first points on the board in a 2-1 triumph of their own, having taken a two-goal lead through Sam Cosgrove and Marc Roberts and stood strong in the final 20 minutes after Ben House pulled one back for the hosts.

Now on the back of a 3-2 EFL Trophy defeat to Manchester United Under-21s in midweek, Barnsley will aim to build on that impressive away result last weekend and put another three-point haul on the board with a first Oakwell victory of the season on Saturday.

Their visitors will also aim to record consecutive League One wins in the early stages of their second consecutive season in England's third tier under the tutelage of Jon Brady.

Following their promotion in the 2022-23 term, Northampton Town enjoyed a creditable return to League One last time around, eventually finishing 14th having earned 60 points from their 46 outings.

Then aiming to build on that campaign and mount another top-half bid this term, the Cobblers began with a tough trip to Bristol Rovers on the opening day and left empty-handed as Bryant Bilongo netted the only goal of the game for their hosts in the 92nd minute, before dropping out of the EFL Cup in the first round following a 2-0 defeat to Wycombe Wanderers.

Exeter City then visited Sixfields last Saturday, and Brady's men succeeded in putting their first points on the board at the second time of asking, despite trailing until the hour mark following a Tristan Crama goal, as Callum Morton levelled the scores and Cameron McGeehan fired them to a 2-1 victory with a 77th-minute goal.

With confidence restored from that maiden victory, Northampton Town now travel to Oakwell for a tough test with the aim of moving onto six points from three outings this term.

Barnsley League One form:

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W

Barnsley form (all competitions):

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W

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Northampton Town League One form:

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W

Northampton Town form (all competitions):

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L

W

Team News

Barnsley are set to remain without attacker Max Watters on Saturday, as he missed Tuesday's EFL Trophy contest after picking up a hamstring injury in their victory over Lincoln City last weekend.

If he misses out, 18-year-old Vimal Yoganathan could join Sam Cosgrove up top after netting a brace in midweek, while Josh Benson returned to contention for that game and will compete to start in the midfield on Saturday.

He faces stiff competition, though, with Matthew Craig and Jon Russell also hoping to join key men Adam Phillips and Luca Connell in the centre, while Mael De Gevigney, Donovan Pines and Marc Roberts are bound to reform a back three.

Jon Brady may opt to deploy an unchanged Northampton Town starting XI from last weekend's 2-1 victory over Exeter City, with striker Tom Eaves remaining sidelined by an injury.

Their line will again be led by Callum Morton, who netted his first goal of the season last time out after returning to the Cobblers on loan in the summer, with Cameron McGeehan bound to join him having also got on the scoresheet in that win.

Mitch Pinnock and Sam Hoskins will offer further attacking support, with the latter having notched up 51 goals over the last three seasons, while Ben Fox and Matt Dibley-Dias should continue in a new-look midfield following several key summer departures.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Slonina; De Gevigney, Pines, Roberts; O'Keefe, Phillips, Connell, Craig, Earl; Cosgrove, Yoganathan

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Burge; McGowan, Willis, Guthrie, Mbete; Fox, Dibley-Dias; Pinnock, Hoskins; McGeehan, Morton

We say: Barnsley 2-1 Northampton Town

While the visitors will be boosted by last week's comeback victory over Exeter City, they face a tougher test on Saturday in a trip to Oakwell.

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