Doncaster Rovers vs Barnsley - prediction, team news, lineups

Barnsley volition marque the abbreviated travel to the Club Doncaster Sports Village connected Saturday to instrumentality connected Doncaster Rovers successful the 2nd crippled of the League One season.

Both teams volition look to enactment their archetypal points connected the committee aft opening with defeats successful the opening circular of games past weekend.

Match preview

Doncaster Rovers caput into their 2nd crippled of the League One play connected Saturday looking to enactment their archetypal points connected the committee astatine the Club Doncaster Sports Village.

They finished 14th successful their archetypal play backmost successful the 3rd tier past clip around, ending connected 60 points - 8 wide of the relegation portion - having won 17 and mislaid 20 of their 46 games.

Aiming to physique connected that harmless decorativeness nether Grant McCann, the Yorkshire outfit turned their absorption to 2026-27, opening successful the EFL Cup archetypal circular against Stockport County, and progressing arsenic the crippled ended 1-1 acknowledgment to Alfie May's extremity and they prevailed successful a punishment shootout.

The League One play past kicked disconnected with a travel to Mansfield Town past weekend, and the Rovers fell short, leaving empty-handed successful a 2-1 decision contempt levelling aboriginal successful the 2nd fractional done Jack Senior, arsenic Louis Reed scored the decisive extremity for their hosts 16 minutes from time.

Doncaster Rovers volition present look to enactment that opening time close connected location turf and grounds their archetypal three-point haul astatine the 2nd clip of asking.

They conscionable a visiting broadside successful a akin presumption up of the South Yorkshire Derby, having started with a cupful triumph and a league defeat.

On the backmost of an underwhelming 2025-26 campaign, successful which they finished 15th to marque it back-to-back seasons good extracurricular the playoffs aft consecutive top-six finishes the erstwhile 2 years, Barnsley opted to regenerate Conor Hourihane with Daniel Stendel, who antecedently led them betwixt 2018 and 2019 and oversaw a promotion from League One.

They saw plentifulness of squad alteration implicit the summertime and began connected the backmost of a productive pre-season with an EFL Cup necktie against Wigan Athletic astatine home, drafting 1-1 acknowledgment to Cameron McGeehan's equaliser and besides winning their punishment shootout.

Stendel's archetypal league crippled astatine the helm past came astatine location to newly-promoted Bromley past Saturday, and the Reds fell to a disappointing 1-0 decision arsenic Victor Adeboyejo scored the lone extremity 20 minutes from time.

Now heading retired connected the roadworthy for the archetypal clip successful competitory enactment nether the returning boss, Barnsley volition anticipation to replicate past season's 2-1 triumph successful Doncaster and get up and running.

Doncaster Rovers League One form:

L

Doncaster Rovers signifier (all competitions):

W L

Barnsley League One form:

L

Barnsley signifier (all competitions):

W L

Team News

Doncaster Rovers are acceptable to stay without caller defender James Husband alongside Matty Pearson and Francis Okoronkwo, each of whom person missed the archetypal 2 games of the season.

McCann should instrumentality with the caller signifier which featured astatine Mansfield with Sean Grehan, Neill Byrne and Jay McGrath lining up successful a backmost three.

Harry Clifton, Brandon Hanlan, Hakeeb Adelakun and Jordan Thomas are each challenging to travel successful astatine the apical extremity of the pitch, but cardinal antheral Owen Bailey whitethorn again articulation Isaac Hutchinson successful enactment of striker Alfie May, who scored connected debut successful the EFL Cup.

Daniel Stendel whitethorn opt to marque changes to the Barnsley squad that mislaid astatine location to Bromley successful their league curtain-raiser.

Cameron McGeehan, who returned the nine aft six years distant implicit the summer, has been fixed the armband and volition again articulation mainstay Luca Connell successful the motor room.

The summertime departures of David McGoldrick and Adam Phillips, arsenic good arsenic the extremity of respective loans, person near the Reds lighter successful attack, and Portsmouth loanee Makenzie Kirk whitethorn travel successful to pb the enactment from the outset, allowing Reyes Cleary to instrumentality to the wing.

Doncaster Rovers imaginable starting lineup:

Simkin; Grehan, Byrne, McGrath; Sterry, Gotts, Broadbent, Senior; Bailey, Hutchinson; May

Barnsley imaginable starting lineup:

Ravenhill; O'Keeffe, Gale, Earl, Kay; McGeehan, Connell; Noslin, Kelly, Cleary; Kirk

We say: Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Barnsley

With some sides keen to enactment a archetypal triumph connected the committee astatine the weekend, we expect a hotly-contested South Yorkshire Derby.

Doncaster Rovers possibly look amended equipped to kickstart their play with much prime passim their ranks, peculiarly astatine the apical extremity of the pitch, and we fancy them to instrumentality the 3 points connected location turf.

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