Preview: Barnsley vs Leyton Orient - prediction, team news, lineups

Sat level on points in pursuit of top-six spots in the League One table, Barnsley and Leyton Orient will meet in an important contest at Oakwell on Saturday.

The two sides each trail sixth-placed Stevenage by six points, with Saturday's hosts boasting a game in hand on the aforementioned team and three in hand on their visitors.

Match preview

Barnsley head back into action at Oakwell on Saturday aiming to reignite their climb towards League One's top six, having suffered a setback last time out.

The South Yorkshire outfit have made a relatively encouraging start to their first full season under the management of Conor Hourihane, earning 25 points from their first 16 outings.

After a disappointing winless run, the Reds began a climb up to the playoff spots with consecutive victories over Doncaster Rovers and Luton Town in November, and they followed those up with a creditable 1-1 draw away at Stockport County.

Then on the back of an FA Cup triumph over Peterborough United, Hourihane's men faced a trip to Lincoln City on Tuesday and succumbed to a 3-1 loss despite levelling through Davis Keillor-Dunn in the second half, as Tom Bayliss and Reeco Hackett scored decisive goals for the hosts.

Now sitting 10th and six points behind sixth-placed Stevenage with a game in hand and at least two in hand on every other top-half side, Barnsley will hope to ramp up their playoff bid with the beginning of another winning streak on Saturday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, also head to Oakwell hoping to chip away at their six-point gap up to League One's top six.

After only being denied promotion to the Championship in last season's playoff final, Leyton Orient experienced a slow start to the new term following major squad changes, earning just 17 points from their first 15 games.

That culminated in a 4-1 loss to Wycombe Wanderers in early November, but Richie Wellens's side have since improved their standing, adding eight point to that tally in four further attempts courtesy of two wins and two draws.

The most recent of their victories came away at Burton Albion in late November, with Aaron Connolly, Dominic Ballard, Azeem Abdulai and Charlie Wellens on the scoresheet in a 4-0 triumph, before they hosted Luton Town on Tuesday and drew 1-1, being pegged back deep into injury time after Theo Archibald's opener.

Left wounded by that draw, but with positives to take from their upturn in form and boasting the league's third most prolific attack thus far, Leyton Orient will hope to make it five games unbeaten and leapfrog the hosts with an away win on Saturday.

Barnsley League One form:

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Barnsley form (all competitions):

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Leyton Orient League One form:

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Leyton Orient form (all competitions):

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Team News

Barnsley are unable to call on midfielder Luca Connell on Saturday, with the key man and captain suspended after reaching five league yellow cards last time out.

Defenders Josh Earl and Nathanael Ogbeta will also remain confined to the treatment room, with veteran Marc Roberts likely to come back into a back four, allowing Jonathan Bland to take Connell's spot in the engine room.

Davis Keillor-Dunn will continue to lead the line, with his tally of nine League One goals this term being the joint-most in the division, while David McGoldrick and Caylan Vickers will both hope to come in from the start in support.

Leyton Orient are badly hit by injuries, with key forward Aaron Connolly and midfielder Idris El Mizouni set for lengthy spells on the sidelines.

Rarmani Edmonds-Green and Jordan Roberts will also continue to miss out, while attacker Josh Koroma suffered a fresh blow in their midweek loss and was forced off early.

Dominic Ballard, who has netted seven league goals this term, will be relied upon up top given their attacking absences, while Theo Archibald will come in from the start having scored off the bench against Luton.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Cooper; De Gevigney, Roberts, Shepherd, Watson; Phillips, Bland; Yoganathan, McGoldrick, Vickers; Keillor-Dunn

Leyton Orient possible starting lineup:

Cahill; Craig, Beckles, Happe, Adaramola; Bakinson, Abdulai; O'Neill, Wellens, Archibald; Ballard