Preview:Barnsley vs Luton Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Separated by just two points in the League One table, Barnsley and Luton Town will square off at Oakwell on Saturday.

The visitors find themselves eighth after a draw last weekend, while their hosts climbed to 13th spot with a victory before the international break.

Match preview

Barnsley return to League One action on Saturday in search of a second straight victory to continue a climb back towards the playoff places.

After enjoying a strong start to life under the permanent management of Conor Hourihane, the South Yorkshire outfit quickly dropped into mid-table following a five-match winless run between mid-September and late October.

That rut produced just two points for the Reds and culminated in a 1-0 home defeat to rivals Rotherham United, but they were able to bounce back last time out.

Hourihane's men made the short trip to Doncaster Rovers in early November and made a return to winning ways, as Vimal Yoganathan put them ahead and Davis Keillor-Dunn sealed a 2-1 away triumph with a 68th-minute goal.

Now on the back of an EFL Trophy defeat to Lincoln City last week and an international-break enforced break last weekend, Barnsley return to action with a five-point gap up to the League One playoffs and will bid to make it consecutive league victories on Saturday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Oakwell with the top six in their sights, albeit while only leading Saturday's hosts by two points.

Luton Town endured a relatively slow start to the League One season following their back-to-back relegations, and after replacing Matt Bloomfield in mid-October with the side sat on 16 points from 11 games, Jack Wilshere appears to have inspired an improvement at Kenilworth Road.

His tenure began with a home league defeat to Mansfield last month, but the Hatters would then record four straight wins in all competitions including two in League One, beating Northampton Town 1-0 and Stockport County 3-0 away from home either side of a pair of cup wins.

Rotherham United then visited Kenilworth Road last weekend, and Wilshere's men had to share the points as the contest ended goalless, continuing a poor home record this season with only two sides in England's third tier recording fewer than Luton's 10 home points thus far.

Their away form does provide more cause for optimism, though, with only Stockport County topping their tally of 13 points on the road, and they will now go in search of a third straight away league victory with a chance to crack the top six.

Barnsley League One form:

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Barnsley form (all competitions):

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Luton Town League One form:

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Luton Town form (all competitions):

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Team News

Barnsley are set to remain without defender Mael Durand de Gevigney, midfielder Adam Phillips and attacker Fabio Jalo due to ongoing injuries.

Conor Hourihane should revert to a similar starting XI from the 2-1 away win over Doncaster Rovers last time out in League One, although Davis Keillor-Dunn should come back in and lead the line from the outset having come off the bench to net his seventh league goal of the season.

David McGoldrick, Vimal Yoganathan, Jonathan Bland, Reyes Cleary and Caylan Vickers will compete to join him in attack, while Jon Russell and Patrick Kelly will both hope to feature alongside key man Luca Connell in the engine room.

Luton Town remain hit by injuries, with Elijah Adebayo, Shandon Baptiste, Shayden Morris, Reuell Walters, and Jordan Clark still sidelined.

Teden Mengi and former Barnsley man Mads Andersen will continue to partner up at the back after last week's clean sheet, while Lamine Fanne and Liam Walsh will likely keep their places in midfield despite Marvelous Nakamba's return to fitness with Zimbabwe in the international break.

Jacob Brown also returned from a long injury layoff to feature off the bench last week, and he, Millenic Alli and Gideon Kodua will battle for attacking spots from the outset after Nahki Wells and Jerry Yates led the line against Rotherham.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Watson, Roberts, Shepherd, Rooney; Connell, Kelly; Yoganathan, McGoldrick, Cleary; Keillor-Dunn

Luton Town possible starting lineup:

Keeley; Jones, Andersen, Mengi, Naismith; Walsh, Fanne; Kodua, Wells, Alli; Yates

We say: Barnsley 1-1 Luton Town

Saturday's encounter is an intriguing one with both teams seemingly on the up, and we struggle to pick a winner, instead anticipating a share of the points at Oakwell.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.