Barnet will make the journey to The Walks Stadium on Tuesday night as they search for their second victory of the season in the National League.
They will play King's Lynn Town, who sit just one place above them in the table and are coming off the back of a 3-2 win against Maidenhead United.
Match preview
King's Lynn Town have had a tough start to the season, which is why they currently sit just two points above the relegation zone after winning only two matches so far.
However, they do have a game in hand on a lot of the teams around them, including Barnet, which does give them the opportunity to climb up the table.
One of their two victories came against Maidenhead Town in their most recent outing as they came out on top in a five-goal thriller, which included two goals after the 90th minute.
Ian Culverhouse's men had initially fought back from going behind early on, taking a 2-1 lead, but after conceding a penalty in the 91st minute, it appeared that they had dropped two points.
However, they made an immediate response and Brett McGavin was able to find the back of the net in the dying embers of the match to secure a crucial victory for his team.
After finishing in the relegation zone last season and only surviving in the league because COVID-19 led to no teams going down, the club will be desperate to make the improvements necessary in order to stay up this season.
Barnet also suffered the same fate in the 2020-21 campaign, and they actually finished below King's Lynn by goal difference, and once again it appears the two teams will be close together.
The Bees currently sit one place below their opponents on Tuesday, but a victory has the potential to see them climb as high as 16th in the table.
Much like King's Lynn, Barnet come into this game on the back of some impressive performances after picking up points in their last two games.
Dean Brennan's squad earned their first win of the season last week when they defeated Weymouth 3-1, and they followed that up with a goalless draw against Halifax Town, who find themselves in a playoff position at the moment.
However, Barnet will need to drastically improve the defensive side of their game if they want to maintain those positive performances, having conceded 20 goals in their opening nine fixtures, which is more than anybody else in the league.
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Team News
Ethan Coleman was able to return to the heart of the King's Lynn midfield on Saturday after serving his one-game suspension, and he will be expected to keep his position in the team.
Cameron King remains a fitness concern for the club, though, as he has yet to feature in this campaign after suffering an injury during pre-season.
However, Culverhouse was able to start Gold Omotayo at the weekend after he recovered from his knee problem, and the forward is set to continue leading the line on Tuesday.
Barnet lost Sam Beard during their draw with Halifax Town, as he had to be substituted due to injury which will open an opportunity for Joe Widdowson to start for the club.
King's Lynn Town possible starting lineup:
Jones; Fernandez, Callan-McFadden, Bowry, Barrows; Clunan, Jones, Coleman, Rowley; Omotayo, Morais
Barnet possible starting lineup:
Sargeant; Thomas, Richards-Everton, Widdowson; Payne, Brundle, Flanagan, Taylor, Mason-Clark; Powell, Marriott
We say: King's Lynn Town 3-1 Barnet
This game is a true six-pointer and one that both teams will desperately want to win in order to push themselves away from the threat of relegation.
It will no doubt be closely contested, but due to Barnet's poor defensive record, it could be the hosts that are able to walk away with all three points.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a King's Lynn Town win with a probability of 42.41%. A win for Barnet had a probability of 31.93% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a King's Lynn Town win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.88%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.9%) and 2-0 (7.21%). The likeliest Barnet win was 0-1 (8.34%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.17%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.2% likelihood.
