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

The Tykes have won five of their last six matches, while the Brewers have picked up four points from their last two fixtures.

Match preview

After edging out Port Vale by a 3-2 scoreline, Burton inched closer to safety by picking up another point at the weekend.

The Brewers played out a goalless draw with Cheltenham Town to claim just their second away clean sheet of the League One season.

With nine games left to play, Dino Maamria's side are currently in 18th position and seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Having been involved in consecutive away games, Burton will now return to home surroundings for the first time since losing 5-2 to Peterborough United in mid-March.

However, the hosts can take confidence from the fact that they picked up 10 points from their four home matches prior to the Peterborough defeat.

Barnsley's promotion bid suffered a setback at the end of March when they were beaten 3-1 by Exeter City, but the Tykes quickly returned to winning ways with an emphatic 5-0 victory over Morecambe.

They raced into a three-goal lead by the 32nd minute thanks to strikes from Devante Cole and Herbie Kane on either side of a Dynel Simeu own goal.

Cole grabbed his second after the break before Bobby Thomas found the net in stoppage time to wrap up a seventh consecutive home victory.

Fourth-placed Barnsley are on course to claim a playoff spot, but with five points separating them from the top two, they will still be dreaming of automatic promotion.

If Barnsley are to claim all three points on Friday then the first goal will be crucial, as all nine of their away league victories have arrived after they opened the scoring.

Burton Albion League One form:

D

L

W

L

W

D

Barnsley League One form:

W

W

W

W

L

W

Team News

Tom Hamer has missed Burton's last two matches with a hamstring injury, and he remains a doubt for Friday's contest.

After making his first EFL appearance on Saturday, Thierry Latty-Fairweather is expected to retain his place in the side with Maamria likely to name an unchanged lineup.

Nottingham Forest loanee Dale Taylor has scored four goals in 11 Burton appearances, and he will look to add to his tally when he leads the line.

As for the visitors, Liam Kitching shook off a knock to play the duration of the 6-0 win over Morecambe, and he will continue to operate in a back three alongside Mads Andersen and Bobby Thomas.

Robbie Cundy recently returned from a spell on the sidelines to feature as a substitute against Sheffield Wednesday and Exeter City, but after a fresh injury setback kept him out of Saturday's victory, he is unlikely to feature on Friday.

James Norwood, who was an unused substitute against Morecambe, has been struggling with a hamstring issue, and if he is not fit to start then Duff may be tempted to select an unchanged side.

Burton Albion possible starting lineup:

MacGillivray; Shaughnessy, Hughes, Moon; Brayford, Powell, Helm, Latty-Fairweather; Kirk, Smith; Taylor

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Isted; B. Thomas, Andersen, Kitching; Williams, L. Thomas, Connell, Kane, Cadden; Cole, Watters

We say: Burton Albion 1-3 Barnsley

Barnsley claimed a 2-0 victory when they faced Burton at Oakwell in December, and although they do not have home advantage on this occasion, we think that they have enough quality in their squad to complete a league double over the Brewers.

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