A pair of top-half League Two sides vie for FA Cup progression at Holker Street on Saturday afternoon, as Barrow and Doncaster Rovers begin their latest tournament campaigns in the first round.
While both teams are competing in the upper echelons of the fourth-tier table, the hosts are enduring a dismal winless sequence, while their visitors are firmly in the promotion mix.
Match preview
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Barrow undoubtedly have bigger fish to fry in the 2024-25 campaign than the FA Cup - even if there is always scope for a quintessential giant killing - but Stephen Clemence's side have not shown the sort of form that will get fans dreaming of a shock scalp.
Indeed, Saturday's hosts come into the first-round contest winless in each of their last five matches across all competitions, a streak that began with a 3-0 EFL Trophy loss to Fleetwood Town, confirming their elimination from the tournament before the final matchday.
Barrow have since accrued just two points from a possible 12 in their last four League Two fixtures, suffering 1-0 defeats to Morecambe and Accrington Stanley before holding Notts County and Bromley to 1-1 stalemates in their most recent two battles.
Clemence's team were moments away from ending their winless sequence at Bromley, only to concede a last-minute penalty as they sit in an unspectacular ninth position in the League Two standings, albeit just one point adrift of the playoff places.
Yet to advance beyond the third round of the FA Cup, Barrow's 2023-24 showing ended in the second round with a defeat at the hands of Maidstone United, and notching just two goals across their last 450 minutes of football does not bode well for the visit of their more in-form rivals.
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Doncaster's own FA Cup history is of course modest in itself, but the visitors to Holker Street do have a handful of last-16 and fifth-round appearances to their name, reaching the latter stage in 2018-19 before being swept aside by Crystal Palace.
Rovers also made a fourth-round appearance in 2020-21 - falling to West Ham United's superiority that year - but have since failed to progress beyond the second stage, bowing out at that point in the 2023-24 season against Peterborough United.
However, Grant McCann's side have already achieved a measure of knockout success this season - winning two of their three EFL Trophy fixtures to guarantee a spot in round two, most recently overcoming Barnsley 3-1 away from home on Tuesday evening.
That triumph came just three days on from a 2-1 league beating of Bradford City, which leaves them fourth in the table, and Rovers have now won each of their last four on the road in all tournaments, scoring at least two goals every time.
Such statistics makes for incredibly pleasant reading for the Rovers faithful, who witnessed their side edge out Barrow 1-0 in League Two action at the beginning of October, but Saturday's hosts have won each of the last two battles at Holker Street.
Team News
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Barrow lost no players to injury during their draw with Bromley last time out, but head coach Clemence was given a red card for protesting the awarding of the penalty and has now been charged with two breaches of misconduct by the FA, which he has until Friday to respond to.
The hosting head coach could therefore be at risk of missing Saturday's first-round match through suspension, but Connor Mahoney is back in the ranks after a serious thigh injury.
Mahoney could very well come into consideration for a start up front as Clemence seeks solutions to the Barrow attacking blues, while 38-year-old veteran Sam Foley is an option for change in midfield.
As far as Doncaster are concerned, Richard Wood and Zain Westbrooke are making positive strides in their recoveries, while Tom Nixon returned from a month on the sidelines in the win over Barnsley in midweek.
It may be too soon for Nixon to make back-to-back starts, though, so Jordan Gibson could operate on the right instead, opening up a spot in attack for ex-Sheffield United striker Billy Sharp to slot into.
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Daniels; Feely, Vassell, Canavan, Jackson; Campbell, Gotts; Mahoney, Spence, Kouyate; Garner
Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Lawlor; Emmanuel, Anderson, Senior; Gibson, Close, Kelly, Fleming; Sbarra; Ironside, Sharp
We say: Barrow 0-2 Doncaster Rovers
Barrow boss Clemence - who may or may not be on the touchline for this game - is still searching for solutions to his side's attacking troubles, whereas Doncaster are scoring for fun on the road.
As a result, we have complete faith in Rovers to book their spot in the second round with minimal stress.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
