Stevenage vs Barnsley - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to fortify their grip connected a top-six spot successful the League One table successful the last run-in, Stevenage volition invited Barnsley to the Lamex Stadium connected Tuesday.

A gully astatine the play leaves the hosts 2 points supra seventh spot successful the playoff contention with 3 games remaining, portion their visitors stay 12th aft a gully of their ain past clip out.

Match preview

Stevenage instrumentality to enactment connected Tuesday aiming to fortify their League One playoff bid successful the last weeks of the season, having failed to cement their top-six presumption successful the past 2 attempts.

After looking acceptable for a mid-table decorativeness nether Alex Revell successful aboriginal 2026, they would determination into rod presumption for a playoff spot with an eye-catching tally betwixt mid-February and mid-April, managing 8 victories alongside a gully and 3 defeats successful a 12-game span.

That near the Boro successful a beardown presumption successful the apical six connected 67 points from 41 games, having culminated successful consecutive 1-0 wins implicit Blackpool and Bradford City, but they person failed to widen their blistery streak further since, firstly visiting chap playoff-chasers Bolton Wanderers and suffering a 5-1 thrashing.

Already-promoted Lincoln City past visited the Lamex Stadium connected Saturday, and Revell's men were forced to share the spoils successful a 2-2 draw, contempt doubly starring successful the archetypal fractional done Louis Thompson and Jamie Reid, arsenic Rob Street denied them each 3 points with a 91st-minute leveller.

Still sat sixth but present lone starring seventh-placed Plymouth Argyle by 2 points with 3 games remaining of the playoff race, Stevenage volition anticipation to enactment the weekend's disappointment down them and springiness their hopes of hanging connected to a top-six spot a large boost with a instrumentality to winning ways.

Their visitors, meanwhile, marque the travel southbound besides successful a bid to get backmost to winning ways arsenic they question to clasp connected to a top-half spot.

Any hopes Barnsley had of making a complaint into the playoff places successful the last stages of the League 1 word faded distant successful a mediocre tally crossed March and aboriginal April, successful which they went winless successful six matches and lone managed 4 points to beryllium successful mid-table connected 51 points from 39 games.

Then near to combat for a top-half decorativeness successful what has been a somewhat underwhelming campaign, with Conor Hourihane present acceptable to depart connected the completion of the campaign, they person astatine slightest shown signs of beingness successful caller weeks, firstly ending the winless tally with a 3-1 triumph distant astatine South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United.

Then connected the backmost of a goalless stalemate with Port Vale, the Reds hosted promotion-chasing Bradford City connected Saturday and snatched a 2-2 gully astatine Oakwell having played with 10 men from the eighth minute, starring done Eoghan O'Connell and falling down to Nick Powell's leveller and Marc Roberts's ain extremity earlier Leo Farrell earned them a constituent with an equaliser heavy into wounded time.

With positives to instrumentality from their caller displays, albeit lone coming erstwhile they were confined to a mid-table finish, Barnsley volition anticipation to extremity the play and their clip nether Hourihane connected a affirmative enactment successful the coming weeks by finishing successful the apical half, starting by extending their unbeaten streak with an distant midweek win.

Stevenage League One form:

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Barnsley League One form:

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Team News

Stevenage proceed to contend with respective wounded issues, arsenic cardinal defenders Luther James-Wildin and Lewis Freestone are some acceptable to stay confined to the attraction room.

Given those absences, Jasper Pattenden and Saxon Earley whitethorn again articulation mainstays Carl Piergianni and Charlie Goode successful a backmost four, portion Harry Cornick and Tyreece Simpson are besides sidelined.

Reid volition proceed to pb their attack, having ended a six-match drought astatine the play to nett his 14th League One extremity of the season.

Barnsley are incapable to telephone connected midfielder Vimal Yoganathan, who was sent disconnected aboriginal successful Saturday's gully with Bradford, portion cardinal attacker David McGoldrick whitethorn stay confined to the attraction country alongside Tawanda Chirewa.

In his apt absence, Tom Bradshaw should again pb the enactment with Patrick Kelly, Scott Banks, Adam Phillips, Reyes Cleary and Farrell competing to articulation him astatine the apical extremity of a 4-2-3-1 setup.

Luca Connell should travel backmost into the midfield from the outset, having lone featured disconnected the seat successful the past 2 outings.

Stevenage imaginable starting lineup:

Marschall; Pattenden, Piergianni, Goode, Earley; Kemp, Houghton, White, Roberts; Phillips, Reid

Barnsley imaginable starting lineup:

Goodman; O'Keefe, Roberts, O'Connell, Earl; Connell, Bland; Phillips, Kelly, Cleary; Bradshaw

We say: Stevenage 2-1 Barnsley

While Stevenage person failed to get implicit the enactment frankincense acold successful their playoff bid, and Barnsley person shown resilience successful caller weeks, we fancy the hosts to travel retired connected apical astatine the Lamex Stadium connected Tuesday with a acold greater request for 3 points successful the run-in.

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