Barnsley host Fleetwood at Oakwell this Saturday in an important weekend in League One football. The two sides sit at opposite ends of the table and need the three points to challenge for promotion and safety respectively.
Barnsley currently sit third in League One. In 14 games, Barnsley have eight wins, two draws and four losses, leaving them on 26 points, two points adrift of the final automatic promotion spot.
In their last five games in all competitions, Barnsley have three wins, a draw and a loss. Barnsley suffered from an unexpected loss at home against Blackpool. Jordan Rhodes’ penalty in the 24th minute was the only goal of the game to give Blackpool the 1 - 0 win. Nicky Cadden and Mael de Gevigney gave Barnsley the 2 - 0 lead over Cambridge going into halftime and Max Watters and Jon Russell doubled the lead in the second half as Barnsley won 4 - 0.
Another win came next time out against Exeter City. John McAtee scored the only goal of the game in the 89th minute of the game to give Barnsley the 1 - 0 win. The game against Bolton was postponed due to international call-ups. Joe Pigott’s penalty in the first half gave Leyton Orient the lead, but Herbie Kane popped up with a goal in the 69th minute that saw the game finish 1 - 1, even with Sam Cosgrove sent off late on for Barnsley.
The last time out for Barnsley was against Shrewsbury in the midweek. Kane converted a penalty and along with goals from Callum Styles and Devante Cole gave Barnsley the 3 - 0 win.
Fleetwood currently sit 22nd in League One after 13 games. With three wins, two draws and nine losses, Fleetwood have just 11 points to their name, three points from safety.
In their last five games in all competitions, Fleetwood have two wins and three losses. Junior Quitirna and Jack Marriott both scored in the 2 - 0 win over a ten man Cheltenham, who had Curtis Davies sent off in the second half. A brace from Dale Taylor and a goal from Freddie Potts put Wycombe into a 3 - 0 lead going into halftime. Marriott scored in the 61st minute, but before Fleetwood could start their comeback, Ben Heneghan was sent off and just a minute after his dismissal, Luke Leahy scored to give Wycombe the 4 - 1 win.
In the Football League Trophy, Fleetwood took on Wigan. Kabongo Tshimanga grabbed a brace and was joined on the scoresheet by Josh Earl in the 3 - 3 draw that sent the tie to penalties. However, Ryan Broom, Xavier Simons and Danny Mayor all missed to give Wigan the 4 - 3 win. The clash with Port Vale was postponed, but the next weekend Fleetwood lost to Lincoln City. Alex Mitchell scored in the sixth minute to give Lincoln the 1 - 0 win over ten man Fleetwood, who had Aristote Nsiala sent off late on.
The most recent outing for Fleetwood was against Reading. Bosun Lawal opened the scoring for Fleetwood in the second minute and Dom Ballard equalised in the second half for Reading. However, a 92nd minute goal from Josh Vela gave Fleetwood the 2 - 1 win.
Barnsley and Fleetwood have only met ten times in their histories, with the first meeting coming as recently as 2014. Barnsley have the better record in the fixture with six wins in comparison to Fleetwood’s two wins, with the other two games ending in a draw.