Blackpoolvs.Barnsley

A share of the points could guarantee the visitors' playoff spot despite a poor run of form, while their hosts have kept their top-six hopes alive with three straight victories.

Match preview

Heading into the final two matches of the League One season, Blackpool find themselves surprisingly in the playoff picture thanks to an upturn in form in recent weeks, having looked all but confined to another season in England's third tier until the beginning of April.

Having failed to establish a consistent run of form throughout the season, Neil Critchley's side sat on 61 points from 41 games following back-to-back defeats to Wigan Athletic and Derby County and a goalless stalemate with Wycombe Wanderers, but they have since moved back into contention with a run of three straight victories in the league for the first time since January.

Indeed, all of those triumphs have come by a single goal, as they firstly returned to winning ways at home to Cambridge United with Sonny Carey on the scoresheet, before Jake Beesley's 22nd-minute goal saw them prevail in a 1-0 triumph at home to rivals Fleetwood Town.

A trip to already-relegated Carlisle United then followed at the weekend, and the Tangerines were again able to take all three points, having gone ahead inside the opening minute through Karamoko Dembele and stood strong throughout the contest at Brunton Park.

While they are certainly not in the driving seat in the playoff race, trailing Saturday's visitors by five points, sixth-placed Oxford United by three points and seventh-placed Lincoln City by one with just two games remaining, Blackpool do now have momentum on their side and will bid to keep their top-six hopes alive with a fourth straight win to narrow the gap between these two sides to two points while hoping the sides between them also drop points.

The away side, meanwhile, will set out to move out of reach of the Tangerines and guarantee their playoff place at the weekend, having seen it brought into doubt in recent weeks.

In their bid to win promotion back to the Championship under the management of Neill Collins this season, Barnsley have certainly experienced a mixed campaign, and they remained in top-two contention in England's third tier until early March, having collected 67 points from their opening 35 outings.

The Reds have since dropped well out of the automatic promotion hunt and now find their top-six place at risk, though, having added just eight more points to that tally in their nine attempts since, including a particularly tough four-game winless run heading into the weekend as they firstly suffered consecutive 2-1 defeats away at Charlton Athletic and Stevenage.

Collins's men then hosted Reading and had to come from behind to take a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw, before most recently facing a tough trip to leaders Portsmouth on Tuesday and seeing the visitors wrap up the league title with a 3-2 win in an eventful contest, having twice gone ahead through Devante Cole and John McAtee only to be pegged back before Conor Shaughnessy sent them home empty-handed with a decisive 89th-minute goal.

While they are still certainly in pole position to take a playoff place in fifth spot, Barnsley's poor run in recent weeks has seen them fail to guarantee a top-six finish, and now leading sixth-placed Oxford United by just two points, seventh-placed Lincoln City by four and Saturday's hosts by five, they will be desperate to remove any doubt with a return to winning ways in the weekend's six-pointer.

Blackpool League One form:

L

L

D

W

W

W

Barnsley League One form:

L

W

L

L

D

L

Team News

Given their impressive recent form, Neil Critchley may wish to field an unchanged Blackpool starting XI on Saturday in their 3-5-2 shape, although he is unlikely to be able to call on key midfielder George Byers, who was forced off in the first half of their win over Carlisle last time out.

If he is unable to feature from the outset, Albie Morgan should come in to join Sonny Carey and Karamoko Dembele, who plays an important role going forward from the midfield having contributed seven goals and 11 assists in England's third tier so far this season.

Forward Jordan Rhodes, who leads the Tangerines' scoring charts with 15 league goals this season, is another notable absentee through injury, meaning Jake Beesley and Shayne Lavery will continue their partnership up front.

Barnsley remain without centre-back Donovan Pines heading into Saturday's trip, while key man Luca Connell has also missed their last two games and could again be sidelined with fellow midfielder Jon Russell.

Given those absences, Conor Grant could again join Herbie Kane and Adam Phillips in the engine room, while Jamie McCart may return from the outset to join Mael de Gevigney and Josh Earl in a back three.

That would allow Jordan Williams to move back into a right wing-back role, while Devante Cole and John McAtee are bound to start up top again having both scored away at Portsmouth to take their tallies to 18 and 11 league goals respectively for the season.

Blackpool possible starting lineup:

Grimshaw; Pennington, Ekpiteta, Husband; Hamilton, Dembele, Morgan, Carey, Coulson; Beesley, Lavery

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Roberts; McCart, De Gevigney, Earl; Williams, Phillips, Kane, Grant, Cadden; McAtee, Cole

We say: Blackpool 2-1 Barnsley

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