Preview: Barnsley vs Port Vale - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to make it three straight victories in League One, Port Vale will travel to Oakwell to take on Barnsley on Saturday.

The visitors made it back-to-back three-point hauls by seeing off Mansfield Town last weekend and took on Arsenal in EFL Cup action in midweek, while their hosts suffered a beating at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion after a league loss last Saturday.

Match preview

Barnsley head into the weekend in search of a return to winning ways in League One, having suffered consecutive defeats across league and cup action over the last week.

The Reds made a pleasing start to their first full season under the management of Conor Hourihane, after last year's eventual 12th-placed finish, earning 16 points from their first seven outings and scoring 14 goals along the way.

That culminated in 3-1 and 3-2 home triumphs over Huddersfield Town and Reading respectively, with Josh Earl, Davis Keillor-Dunn and Adam Phillips on the scoresheet against the latter, but they were unable to make it three wins on the bounce last weekend.

Hourihane's side men visited Blackpool and left empty-handed in agonising fashion, as Jordan Brown broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 98th minute.

Now on the back of a 6-0 beating at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion in the EFL Cup in midweek, Barnsley return to league action in sixth spot and will bid to bounce back and narrow their gap to the top two with a home victory on Saturday.

They face a tricky test, though, as the visitors arrive at Oakwell in search of a third straight league win.

After winning promotion from League Two last time around, Port Vale failed to put a notch in their wins column in their first seven attempts in England's third tier, picking up just two points in that time and ending with four consecutive losses between mid-August and early September.

Darren Moore's side would finally end their wait in a trip to Exeter City, leaving with a 2-0 triumph thanks to Ruari Paton and Devante Cole, before hosting Mansfield Town last weekend and winning 2-1 as Cole opened the scoring and Ronan Curtis restored the lead and snatched all three points with a 95th-minute penalty.

Now on the back of a midweek EFL Cup tie with Arsenal, in which a valiant effort ended in a 2-0 loss with the second goal not coming until the 86th minute, Port Vale turn their focus back to League One with the aim of recording another three-point haul to continue their climb up the table.

Barnsley League One form:

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Barnsley form (all competitions):

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Port Vale League One form:

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Port Vale form (all competitions):

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Team News

Barnsley head into the weekend without defenders Marc Roberts and Georgie Gent and attackers Patrick Kelly and Fabio Jalo on Saturday due to ongoing injuries.

Key forward David McGoldrick should return to the attack from the outset after sitting out in midweek, joining Davis Keillor-Dunn who has already netted five goals in eight league appearances this season after notching up 18 in his debut Reds campaign last time around.

Adam Phillips and Caylan Vickers will again hope to complete the attack, while Josh Earl and Jack Shepherd will partner up at the back in Roberts's ongoing absence.

After making minor changes for their midweek cup tie against Arsenal, Port Vale should revert to the same starting XI from last week's win over Mansfield Town, other than the expected absence of wing-back Liam Gordon through injury.

Devante Cole will return from the start and lead the line against his former club, having scored in each of his first three League One appearances for the Valiants, likely rejoining Ruari Paton.

Ben Garrity and George Byers should also come back in from the start after dropping to the bench on Wednesday and will feature alongside Ryan Croasdale in the middle of their 3-5-2 setup.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Cooper; Watson, Shepherd, Earl, Ogbeta; Russell, Connell; Vickers, Phillips, McGoldrick; Keillor-Dunn

Port Vale possible starting lineup:

Gauci; Debrah, Humphreys, Hall; Lawrence-Gabriel, Garrity, Byers, Croasdale, Headley; Cole, Paton

We say: Barnsley 2-1 Port Vale

Barnsley face a tough test against a resurgent visiting Port Vale side, but we see them having the quality to bounce back under Hourihane and get back to winning ways at Oakwell in a tight contest.

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