Scunthorpe will welcome Barrow to Glanford Park on Tuesday for an important game at the bottom end of the League Two table.
The hosts are rooted to the foot of the division, 10 points adrift of safety, but their visitors remain at risk of being dragged into the bottom two.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having won just four matches in League Two this season, Scunthorpe United have seen their survival hopes continuously dwindle over the course of the term and now find themselves 10 points adrift with 10 games left to play.
Their first 10 league outings after the turn of the year was a particularly damning run, as the Iron suffered nine defeats and only earned three points courtesy of a home win over Walsall.
Keith Hill's side have failed to add another notch to their wins column since that run, and they now come into Tuesday's home clash having lost two and drawn two of their last four games, most recently falling to a 3-1 home defeat to Colchester United despite leading through Joe Nuttall until the hour mark.
That has left them on 24 points from 36 games, 10 points adrift and with a far inferior goal difference to the sides around them, and, while they may now feel the task is too tall to overcome, a victory on Tuesday would at least see the Iron move within seven points of their opponents.
© Reuters
They welcome a Barrow side who will be keen to stretch their cushion over the bottom two, having improved their position slightly in recent weeks.
The Bluebirds sat in a precarious position at the halfway stage of the campaign, but they have enjoyed a relative upturn in form since the beginning of February.
While Mark Cooper's side have only won one game in that run, a 1-0 defeat of Northampton Town, they have played out five draws, making it eight points from the last eight matches and moving ahead of Stevenage and Oldham Athletic as a result.
They make the trip on Tuesday on the back of consecutive draws, as they were first held by Walsall despite John Rooney putting them ahead, before playing out a goalless stalemate away at Rochdale last time out.
While their form is by no means eye-catching, Cooper's men have certainly boosted their claim for survival with a more reliable run, and they will be keen to increase their three-point cushion over the relegation zone with an eighth league win of the campaign.
- L
- L
- D
- L
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Scunthorpe are without young defender Luke Matheson, who will serve a suspension after he was sent off in Saturday's defeat to Colchester.
In his absence, Manny Onariase could feature from the outset on the right-hand side of a back four, with Jai Rowe and George Taft again set to partner up at the heart of the defence.
Joe Nuttall should lead the line with renewed confidence after netting his first goal for the club last time out following a January move from Blackpool.
Barrow should only make minimal changes after a creditable away draw and clean sheet at the weekend, and Niall Canavan will play at the centre of the defensive line against the club he made over 170 appearances for between 2009 and 2016.
Lone striker Aaron Amadi-Holloway should again be supported by the trio of John Rooney, George Williams and Leeds United loanee Robbie Gotts, with Tom White and Ollie Banks anchoring the midfield behind them.
Scunthorpe United possible starting lineup:
Watson; Onariase, Rowe, Taft, Delaney; Feeney, Cribb, Grant, Beestin, Sinclair; Nuttall
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Hutton, Platt, Canavan, Brough; White, Banks; Gotts, Rooney, Williams; Amadi-Holloway
We say: Scunthorpe United 1-2 Barrow
Scunthorpe have, at least, managed to avoid defeats more regularly in recent weeks, but we do not see them getting anything from a clash with an improved Barrow side.
Cooper's men seem to be slowly climbing away from the bottom two, and, after a run of draws, they will hope to see off the basement team to stretch the gap further.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barrow win with a probability of 40.96%. A win for Scunthorpe United had a probability of 31.15% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Barrow win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.22%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.32%) and 0-2 (7.77%). The likeliest Scunthorpe United win was 1-0 (10.29%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.08%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 12.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Barrow in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Barrow.
