Preview: Barrow vs. Harrogate Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Seven places and six points abstracted Barrow and Harrogate Town successful the League Two table entering Saturday's gameweek 25 clash astatine Holker Street.

Both sides are successful underwhelming signifier going into this weekend, with 3 wins combined successful their erstwhile 20 matches: the Bluebirds beating Fleetwood Town earlier Christmas and Harrogate winning astatine Gillingham successful November.

Match preview

© Imago

Barrow endured a mixed Christmas period, losing against in-form Salford City 3-0 connected Boxing Day earlier playing retired draws astatine Tranmere Rovers (1-1) and starring promotion-chasing Bradford City 2-1 earlier conceding a precocious equaliser.

The upshot of the Bluebirds' past 3 results means that Stephen Clemence's men person not won since beating Fleetwood 2-0 connected December 21, a triumph that followed a four-match winless series (three defeats).

Despite their ongoing winless run, supporters mightiness instrumentality positives from avoiding decision successful consecutive league games for the archetypal clip since September, though that was a five-match series that included 4 victories.

Securing 4 points from caller games successful beforehand of their fans offers immoderate optimism for the Cumbria outfit, whose lone location decision since the October planetary interruption was a 3-1 nonaccomplishment to AFC Wimbledon successful mid-November.

Given their presumption successful the division, occurrence oregon decision for the 15th-placed Bluebirds mightiness person small effect, arsenic Clemence's men are 9 points adrift of a play-off spot and 8 wide of the dreaded bottommost two.

© Imago

Barrow's seeming peripherality successful the contention places contiguous spotlight connected Harrogate, whose winless tally has been much miserable, arsenic evidenced by losing six of their erstwhile 7 matches successful League Two.

Those disappointing results are magnified erstwhile considering that Simon Weaver's men person fired blanks successful 4 of those 7 matches, astir precocious failing to people successful the 2-0 New Year's Day decision by promotion-chasing Salford.

That decision leaves the Sulphurites third-bottom successful the 3rd tier connected 22 points, with second-bottom Morecambe 2 points down aft securing six points from their preceding 3 games.

The anticipation of sliding into the relegation portion should interest the travelling support, who person seen their broadside suffer six of 12 distant fixtures, including 3 of their erstwhile 4 astatine Salford (2-0), Tranmere Rovers (2-1), Grimsby Town (2-1) and Fleetwood (1-1).

However, with 4 of Harrogate's losses being marginal defeats, the team's seeming competitiveness extracurricular North Yorkshire could basal them successful bully stead earlier their archetypal distant lucifer of the caller year.

Barrow League Two form:

Harrogate Town League Two form:

Team News

© Imago

Neo Eccleston could regenerate Rory Feely successful the squad aft the second was forced disconnected 15 minutes into the Bradford gully connected New Year's Day.

Emile Acquah and Andrew Dallas person scored a combined 7 goals for the Bluebirds, and the forwards should pb the location side's attack, keen to adhd to their returns.

Weaver has a reasonably steadfast squad this weekend, arsenic evidenced by the North Yorkshire nine sustaining nary evident injuries successful their opening nonaccomplishment of 2025; Ellis Taylor, missing since November, remains absent.

Taylor, James Daly and Josh March are the distant side's joint-leading goalscorers with 3 goals each, indicating the league's second-lowest goalscorers' lack of reliable match-winners.

Barrow imaginable starting lineup:
Parman; Eccleston, Vassell, Tiensia; Newby, Foley, Gotts, Jackson; Mahoney; Dallas, Acquah

We say: Barrow 1-1 Harrogate Town

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