Preview: Peterborough United vs Barnsley - prediction, team news, lineups

Peterborough United will welcome Barnsley to the Weston Homes Stadium on Saturday for an FA Cup second-round tie.

Nine points separate the sides in the League One table with the hosts in the relegation zone and the visitors closing in on the playoff spots.

Match preview

Peterborough United return to FA Cup action on home turf on Saturday aiming to progress to the third round for the third consecutive season, having seen off Notts County at this stage last year before falling to Everton.

The Posh faced a tough first-round tie at the beginning of November, and they progressed with a 1-0 victory in Luke Williams's first game at the helm as Harry Leonard scored the only goal.

Brought in to reverse the fortunes of a side struggling in the League One drop zone, Luke Williams has enjoyed a relatively positive start in the Posh dugout, following that cup triumph up with 5-0 and 3-0 beatings of AFC Wimbledon and Stockport County respectively.

Their momentum has slowed since, though, going on to suffer league defeats to Stevenage and Doncaster Rovers, keeping them in the bottom four, while also dropping out of the EFL Trophy in midweek in a 1-0 loss to Swindon Town.

Peterborough United will now bid to put that disappointment behind them and set up a third-round tie with a return to winning ways on Saturday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to the Weston Homes in search of a second away victory over Peterborough United this season, having prevailed in a 1-0 triumph here in August.

That has come in a pleasing start for Barnsley, who, under the permanent management of Conor Hourihane, have kicked off another League One promotion bid with 25 points from their first 15 outings.

Their FA Cup campaign began at home to fifth-tier York City in November, and the Reds scraped through with a 3-2 triumph thanks to Marc Roberts' injury-time winner, having previously been pegged back after Davis Keillor-Dunn had them ahead with a brace.

Hourihane's men now find themselves in a strong vein of league form, having earned seven points from their last three games to sit three points behind seventh spot with two games in hand.

Now on the back of their own EFL Trophy exit to Port Vale, a 5-0 midweek away defeat, Barnsley will aim to add to a positive start to their league campaign and advance to the FA Cup third round for the first time in three years.

Peterborough United FA Cup form:

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Peterborough United form (all competitions):

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Barnsley FA Cup form:

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Barnsley form (all competitions):

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Team News

Luke Williams deployed a strong Peterborough United starting XI for their FA Cup first-round tie, and we should see similar at the weekend.

George Nevett, Rio Adebisi, Jacob Mendy, Sam Hughes and Cian Hayes remain confined to the treatment room.

Harry Leonard and Gustav Lindgren will hope to come into the attack from the outset, after Kyrell Lisbie and Matthew Garbett flanked Jimmy-Jay Morgan last weekend.

Conor Hourihane also put a strong Barnsley side out last time out in the FA Cup, and with the EFL Trophy out of sight the visitors should also look similar to last week's league draw with Stockport County.

Georgie Gent and Fabio Jalo are ruled out with injuries, while Jonathan Bland is back in contention after his suspension last weekend.

Davis Keillor-Dunn should again lead the line, having netted 11 goals in all competitions this season including two in the first round, while Adam Phillips, Vimal Yoganathan Reyes Cleary, David McGoldrick and Caylan Vickers will compete for the other attacking spots.

Peterborough United possible starting lineup:

Bass; Kioso, Lees, O'Connor, Mills; Khela, Collins; Lisbie, Lindgren, Garbett; Leonard

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Cooper; De Gevigney, Roberts, Shepherd, Ogbeta; Russell, Bland; Yoganathan, McGoldrick, Cleary; Keillor-Dunn

We say: Peterborough United 1-2 Barnsley

Saturday's tie promises to be a close one between two sides with quality and their sights set on the third round.

While Peterborough United have slowed down slightly under Luke Williams, Barnsley are gaining momentum other than their midweek EFL Trophy loss, and we back the visitors to get over the line.

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