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

Needing a victory to keep alive any hopes of escaping the bottom four in the League One table, Port Vale will welcome Barnsley to Vale Park on Tuesday.

The hosts managed a return to winning ways against Rotherham United last time out but remain 16 points adrift of safety, while their visitors bounced back against the same opposition on Saturday.

Match preview

Port Vale return to League One action on Tuesday in search of a second straight victory to keep their slim survival hopes alive, having been cut adrift from most sides in the division during a difficult campaign.

After winning promotion from League Two last time around, the Valiants have occupied bottom spot in England's third tier for most of the campaign, having earned 34 points from their 39 games and scored a league-low tally of 30 goals in those matches.

Jon Brady's January arrival would not spark a major turnaround at Vale Park, either, as they managed just 13 points from his first 15 games at the helm before hosting fellow strugglers Rotherham United last week on the back of a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final, ending an impressive run which was a rare highlight of their campaign.

They would bounce back in that game, though, picking up a 1-0 victory having stood strong after leading through Ryan Croasdale's sixth-minute opener.

Now returning from a free weekend with seven games remaining, at least two in hand on every team around the relegation zone, but with a 16-point gap to safety, Port Vale know that they likely need a perfect end to the season to stand any chance of avoiding the drop, beginning with another win on Tuesday to kick off a three-game week.

Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Vale Park in search of consecutive wins of their own, having ended a poor run at the weekend.

Barnsley's 2025-26 season under the management of Conor Hourihane has been a mixed one, now sitting 12th with 54 points on the board from 40 games, winning 14 and losing 14 of those while scoring 63 goals and conceding 65, the joint-second most in the division.

After looking poised to join the playoff fight with their games in hand in early March, the Reds saw any top-six hopes fade away in a six-match winless streak, albeit drawing four of those, as the dry spell culminated in a 3-0 home beating to Plymouth Argyle on Easter Monday.

A South Yorkshire derby then followed away at Rotherham United on Saturday, and Hourihane's men returned to winning ways in a 3-1 triumph, having led 3-0 through Adam Phillips's opener and a Tom Bradshaw brace before Sam Nombe scored an injury-time consolation from the penalty spot for the hosts.

Now sitting 12th with six games remaining, eight points behind ninth-placed Reading with three games in hand, Barnsley will hope to, at least, solidify a top-half place and compete for a top-10 spot with a strong end to the season in the final weeks.

Port Vale League One form:

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Port Vale form (all competitions):

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Barnsley League One form:

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Team News

Port Vale may be unchanged from last week's 1-0 win over Rotherham, with Ben Heneghan and George Byers remaining sidelined by injuries.

Ben Waine and the experienced duo of Jayden Stockley and Andre Gray will compete for attacking starts, though, having featured off the bench in that game with Martin Sherif, Ethon Archer and Ben Garrity preferred up top.

Further attacking support will come from midfield with George Hall and Croasdale, who netted his third goal of the season last Tuesday, while Jordan Shipley will also hope to return from the outset.

Barnsley should also field a similar starting XI from their win over Rotherham, with Tawanda Chirewa still sidelined and top scorer David McGoldrick having missed that contest.

In his absence, Bradshaw led the line and netted a brace, while Phillips will continue in support having marked his return to the starting XI on Saturday with his seventh League One goal of the season.

Reyes Cleary, Scott Banks and Patrick Kelly will battle for the final attacking spots, while Vimal Yoganathan and Jonathan Bland should continue in midfield if key man Luca Connell remains sidelined and Josh Earl is back in contention in defence after an injury layoff dating back to New Year's Day.

Port Vale possible starting lineup:

Gauci; Lawrence-Gabriel, John, Humphreys, Gordon; Croasdale, Hall, Walters; Garrity, Gray, Archer

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Goodman; O'Keefe, De Gevigney, O'Connell, Earl; Yoganathan, Bland; Cleary, Phillips, Banks; Bradshaw

We say: Port Vale 1-2 Barnsley

While Port Vale showed their fighting spirit to produce a crucial victory last time out, Barnsley head to Vale Park with plenty of attacking threat, even without McGoldrick, and Saturday's dominant win may finally trigger an upturn in form in the final weeks of the term in line with the quality in their ranks.

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