Seeking to secure their first away win since September, Cellar-dwelling Barrow journey to Meadow Lane to square off against Notts County in round 35 of League Two on Tuesday.
The Magpies head into the game unbeaten in each of their last six games since kicking off the year with a narrow defeat against Walsall and will be looking to extend this fine run as they push for automatic promotion.
Match preview
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Notts County dropped two more points in their push for a top-three finish as they needed a late strike from Gambian international Alassana Jatta to salvage a 2-2 draw against Fleetwood Town at Highbury Stadium on Saturday.
Having trailed for most of the game, Ryan Graydon netted two quick-fire goals in the second half to cancel out George Abbott's 16th-minute opener and put Fleetwood in front, but Jatta struck with one minute left in normal time to force a share of the spoils.
With the weekend result, Notts County have now failed to win three of their most recent four games, dropping seven points in that time — having picked up five wins and one draw from the six matches preceding this run.
This slump in form has seen Stuart Maynard's men fall out of the automatic promotion places as they now sit fourth in the League Two standings with 58 points from 33 games, three points behind third-placed Doncaster Rovers, albeit with one game in hand.
Notts County will be backing themselves to find their feet on Tuesday as they return to Meadow Lane, where they are unbeaten in their last six games, picking up four wins and two draws while scoring nine goals and keeping three clean sheets since a 2-1 loss against Walsall on New Year's Day.
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On the other hand, Barrow continue to struggle for results in the bottom half of the table as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against bottom-dwellers Carlisle United at Holker Street last Thursday.
Despite being in the ascendancy for most of the game and seeing several clear-cut chances, the Bluebirds were made to rue their wasteful display in front of goal as Matthew Dennis's 17th-minute strike helped Carlisle United to just their sixth win of the season.
Barrow have now lost each of their most recent three matches, suffering defeats against Cheltenham Town, Crewe Alexandra and most recently Carlisle since picking up back-to-back victories over Gillingham and MK Dons earlier in February.
With 13 games to go before the 2024-25 campaign draws to a close, Andrew Whing's men will be looking to put themselves in the clear as they currently sit 19th in the standings with 37 points from 33 matches, 11 points above the relegation zone.
While Barrow will be looking to stop the rot and begin an upturn in form heading into the business end of the season, results on the road offer little optimism as they have failed to win any of their last 15 away matches across all competitions since beating Newport County 2-0 on September 21.
They head into Tuesday's clash with the second-worst away record in League Two this season, claiming just two wins and nine points from their 16 matches — only Tranmere (8) have picked up fewer points on the road.
Team News
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Notts County remain without the services of Lucas Ness (hamstring) and Scottish midfielder Scott Robertson (quadriceps), who have been ruled out for the remainder of the season.
Sam Austin has missed the last seven matches through injury while veteran striker David McGoldrick has been sidelined since coming off injured against Gillingham on February 1.
Jodi Jones and 23-year-old Lewis Macari were both handed short cameos against Fleetwood last time out as they returned to action following their spells on the sidelines and the duo should be involved on Tuesday.
With his leveller in the aforementioned game, Jatta sits joint-first in the League Two scoring chart with 16 goals in 28 matches and the 26-year-old striker will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
As for Barrow, Whing will be unable to call upon the services of Scottish midfielder Dean Campbell, who is set to sit out his fifth game on the spin since picking up an injury following the game against Gillingham in February.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Katia Kouyate and Welsh midfielder Chris Popov, who is yet to feature this year since coming off injured in the Boxing Day loss against Salford United while Samuel Barnes was an unused substitute against Carlisle last timeout.
Notts County possible starting lineup:
Bass; Johnson, Platt, Bedeau, Gordon; Abbott, Palmer, Tsaroulla, Whitaker; Grant, Jatta
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Foley, Canavan, Cameron, Jackson; Whitfield, Gotts; Spence, Williams, Smith; Acquah
We say: Notts County 2-0 Barrow
Notts County will be licking their lips as they go up against a Barrow side, who have struggled to impose themselves on the road this season. The most recent three meetings between the two teams have ended all square but we are backing the Magpies to come away with all three points in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
