Aiming to narrow their gap to the top two in the League One table with a third consecutive victory, Barnsley will visit the Abbey Stadium to take on Cambridge United on Saturday.
The visitors sit fourth in the midst of a four-match unbeaten streak, while their visitors find themselves 22nd after suffering a heavy defeat last weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
Cambridge United head back into action at the Abbey Stadium on Saturday aiming to bounce back to winning ways in League One, having suffered a heavy loss last time out after kickstarting their season last month.
They headed into the October international break in a desperate position, sitting bottom of England's third tier having earned just one point from their first nine outings, but Garry Monk's men would produce an inspired turnaround on their return.
Indeed, they would then record their first three victories of the season consecutively, beating Wigan Athletic, Stevenage and Burton Albion without conceding, before making it five games unbeaten across all competitions with FA Cup and EFL Trophy triumphs over Woking and Chelsea Under-21s.
Then aiming to further extend that improved run, Monk's men most recently visited rivals Peterborough United on Saturday but saw their winning streak abruptly ended, eventually succumbing to a 6-1 thrashing at the Weston Homes Stadium with Sullay Kaikai's 84th-minute goal nothing more than a consolation.
Left wounded by that thrashing and finding themselves four points adrift of safety in League One as a result, albeit having improved their chances in the last month, Cambridge United will be keen to bounce back on Saturday and move closer to escaping the bottom four.
© Imago
They face a tough test, though, as the visitors arrive in search of a third straight victory to narrow their gap to the automatic promotion spots.
After a mixed start to their first season under Darrell Clarke, and their third attempt at League One promotion after consecutive playoff defeats, Barnsley headed into the October international break on 15 points from 10 games, and they have since enjoyed an upturn in form on their return.
Indeed, from their last four outings, the Reds have put 10 more points on the board, beginning with a 2-1 triumph away at Blackpool before snatching a point from a 2-2 draw with Charlton Athletic.
Clarke's men now head into the weekend on the back of consecutive 2-0 triumphs in England's third tier, seeing off strugglers Shrewsbury Town and following up an FA Cup win over Port Vale by beating Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United at Oakwell last Friday thanks to goals from Jon Russell and Stephen Humphrys.
Now sitting fourth in League One with a five-point gap to the top two and the division's second-strongest away record having earned 15 points from their first seven games on the road, Barnsley will aim to keep building momentum with a third straight victory.
Team News
© Imago
Cambridge United head into the weekend without defender James Gibbons, who sustained an injury in last week's defeat to Peterborough United, while Paul Digby, Josh Stokes and Shayne Lavery remain confined to the treatment room.
After serving a suspension during that heavy defeat, Danny Andrew should return to the defence to join Michael Morrison and Jubril Okedina in Gibbons's absence, while Monk may opt to make further alterations to inspire a rebound from the 6-1 thrashing.
Sullay Kaikai should return to the attack from the outset, likely alongside Dan Nlundulu and Elias Kachunga, while Jordan Cousins could continue next to Korey Smith in the midfield in the absence of key man Digby.
Darrell Clarke may field an unchanged Barnsley starting XI from last week's 2-0 win over Rotherham United, although Stephen Humphrys has a claim to come back in from the start having scored their second goal off the bench.
He will hope to displace Max Watters and lead the line alongside advanced midfielder Davis Keillor-Dunn, who also arrived at Oakwell in the summer, while Adam Phillips will offer further attacking support through the centre having netted a team-high tally of six goals so far this term.
Captain and key midfielder Luca Connell will serve a suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards, meaning Matthew Craig should come in to join Jon Russell at the base of the midfield, while Mael de Gevigney, Marc Roberts and Josh Earl are bound to line up in an unaltered back three.
Cambridge United possible starting lineup:
Reyes; Okedina, Morrison, Andrew; Bennett, Cousins, Smith, Brophy; Kachunga, Nlundulu, Kaikai
Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Killip; De Gevigney, Roberts, Earl; O'Keefe, Phillips, Russell, Craig, Gent; Keillor-Dunn, Humphrys
We say: Cambridge United 0-2 Barnsley
While the loss of Luca Connell could certainly hurt Barnsley, the rejuvenated Reds should still have more than enough quality to get past a Cambridge side wounded by a derby thrashing last week.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
