Preview: Barnsley vs. Burton Albion - prediction, team news, lineups

While the home side occupies a playoff place, Burton are currently in the relegation zone with five points separating them from safety.

Match preview

Barnsley have been in impressive form of late, winning six of their previous seven games across all competitions.

In their most recent outing, Barnsley claimed a narrow 2-1 league victory over Peterborough United thanks to goals from Luca Connell and Adam Phillips.

After claiming a fourth consecutive league win Barnsley would have been desperate to continue their momentum last weekend, but their away meeting with Oxford was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

The Tykes will have the chance to record a fifth straight victory in League One on Saturday, and they head into the fixture in fourth place.

Barnsley will also be looking for another positive performance at Oakwell after winning their last three competitive home games, where they scored eight goals and only conceded on one occasion.

Meanwhile, Burton are currently winless in six league matches, although their last four League One games have all finished level.

Last weekend, they played out a 1-1 draw against Derby County, before they missed out on the chance to reach the EFL Trophy quarter-finals when they faced Accrington Stanley on Tuesday.

The Brewers took the lead on two occasions thanks to an Adedeji Oshilaja strike and a Douglas Tharme own goal, but Accrington turned the game on its head to claim a 4-2 victory.

Burton will now turn their attention back to league matters, and if they are to close the five-point gap to safety then they need to improve defensively.

They currently have the worst defensive record in the third tier after conceding 42 goals in 21 games, while keeping only two clean sheets.

Barnsley League One form:

L

L

W

W

W

W

Barnsley form (all competitions):

W

W

W

L

W

W

Burton Albion League One form:

L

L

D

D

D

D

Burton Albion form (all competitions):

D

W

W

D

D

L

Team News

The hosts are expected to be without the services of Jordan Helliwell, Slobodan Tedic and Luke Thomas due to injury issues.

Matty Wolfe is closing in on a return to fitness, although Saturday's contest may come too soon for the 22-year-old, while Tom Edwards is a doubt after picking up a knock in training.

Barnsley boss Michael Duff has said that Jack Aitchison would have missed the postponed meeting with Oxford through illness, but he is hopeful the forward can feature against Burton.

As for the visitors, Jonny Smith and Sam Winnall are ruled out through injury, while substitute goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo has missed the last two games due to illness.

Victor Adeboyejo will look to add to the 12 goals he has scored in all competitions this season when he lines up against his former side on Saturday.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Collins; Cundy, Andersen, Kitching; Williams, Phillips, Kane, Connell, Cadden; Cole, Aitchison

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:

Garratt; Brayford, Hughes, Ndaba; Hamer, Onyango, Taylor, Oshilaja, Borthwick-Jackson; Odeboyejo, Kamwa

We say: Barnsley 2-0 Burton Albion

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