Preview: Barnsley vs. Lincoln City - prediction, team news, lineups

A midweek draw with Bolton Wanderers left the hosts three points outside the top two with a game in hand, while their visitors have climbed to 10th spot with an impressive upturn in form recently.

Match preview

With 11 matches to go in their League One campaign, Barnsley find themselves in an encouraging run in their bid for automatic promotion under the management of Neill Collins this season, as they currently occupy fourth spot.

From their opening 35 outings, the Yorkshire outfit have amassed 67 points courtesy of 19 victories alongside just six defeats, with the latest of those losses coming in late January and ending an 11-game league unbeaten streak.

The Reds have rebounded impressively since that rare setback too, strengthening their top-two bid with another hot streak, putting another seven-match unbeaten run together including three straight victories over Fleetwood Town, Derby County and Wycombe Wanderers ahead of a crucial six-pointer at home to second-placed Bolton Wanderers on Tuesday.

They went 2-0 up in that meeting thanks to goals from John McAtee and Donovan Pines, but Collins's men eventually had to settle for a point in agonising fashion, with Victor Adeboyejo pulling one back on the hour mark before Randell Williams levelled the scores deep into injury time, pouncing on Liam Roberts's save from a Josh Sheehan penalty to force a share of the spoils.

While bound to be left disappointed by that late comeback, Barnsley do remain just three points behind Bolton with a game in hand and two worse off than third-placed Derby County having also played a game fewer, and they will be keen to bounce back to winning ways and narrow that gap in the fight for automatic promotion on Saturday.

That will certainly be no easy task, though, as the visitors arrive aiming to extend a rich vein of form at the weekend.

Lincoln City travel to Oakwell in the midst of a 10-match unbeaten streak in League One under the management of Michael Skubala, having firstly played out three consecutive draws January before winning five of their last seven third-tier outings.

Following victories over Burton Albion and Fleetwood Town and a draw with Charlton Athletic, the Imps were able to establish a strong top-half standing with three consecutive wins last month, seeing off Exeter City, Port Vale and Shrewsbury Town, scoring six goals without conceding as the latter ended in a 3-0 triumph courtesy of goals from Teddy Bishop, Reeco Hackett-Fairchild and Lasse Sorensen.

Aiming to stretch their run to four straight victories and narrow the gap to the playoff places, Skubala's side most recently welcomed sixth-placed Stevenage to Sincil Bank last weekend, and while they did see out a fourth consecutive clean sheet, they were unable to find a decisive goal and settled for a share of the spoils.

Remaining eight points off sixth spot having played a game more than Stevenage as a result, Lincoln City are all but out of the playoff picture with 10 games to play, but they will still be keen to continue their hot streak and establish themselves in the top 10 at the end of the League One campaign.

Barnsley League One form:

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Lincoln City League One form:

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Team News

Heading into the weekend with a clean bill of health, Barnsley will likely field an unchanged starting XI from their midweek contest against Bolton Wanderers, with Mael De Gevigney and January arrivals Donovan Pines and Josh Earl establishing themselves in a back three.

In their 3-5-2 shape, Luca Connell is a mainstay at the base of the midfield, and Herbie Kane and Adam Phillips should continue to operate ahead of him with Phillips having contributed six goals and seven assists across 31 League One appearances so far this term.

Devante Cole will again lead the line, having notched up 17 league goals so far this term, while John McAtee will get the nod to join him after hitting his seventh of the season on Tuesday.

Adam Jackson will remain out of action for Lincoln City, and Skubala may deploy an unchanged starting XI from their stalemate with Stevenage last time out in their 3-5-2 shape.

Following a fourth consecutive clean sheet, Alex Mitchell, Paudie O'Connor and Sean Roughan will again line up in a back three in front of stopper Lukas Jensen.

Luton Town loanee Joe Taylor will continue to join Ben House up front, while Lasse Sorensen and Reeco Hackett-Fairchild will offer further attacking support from wing-back roles.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Roberts; De Gevigney, Pines, Earl; Williams, Phillips, Connell, Kane, Cadden; McAtee, Cole

Lincoln City possible starting lineup:

Jensen; Mitchell, O'Connor, Roughan; Sorensen, Erhahon, Bishop, Moylan, Hackett-Fairchild; House, Taylor

We say: Barnsley 2-1 Lincoln City

We anticipate an intriguing encounter at Oakwell, as free-scoring Barnsley meet a Lincoln City side who have excelled at the back recently.

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