Preview: Shrewsbury Town vs. Barnsley - prediction, team news, lineups

Shrewsbury Town and Barnsley go head to head on Saturday, with both teams looking to close the gap between themselves and the League One playoff places.

Just one point and two league positions separate the two sides heading into the game in Shropshire.

Match preview

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The Shrews have not won in four league games, drawing the last two, but did progress to the second round of the FA Cup with victory at home against York City of the National League.

Steve Cotterill's side followed that up with a point at home to Oxford United, after Matthew Pennington cancelled out Cameron Brannagan's opener for the visitors.

This season, Town have won three and lost three of their eight home games and have actually picked up more points on the road than they have at the Montgomery Waters Meadow.

If they fail to beat Barnsley, it will be the second time this season they have not won three home games in a row.

Shrewsbury have only scored 17 times in the league so far, which is the lowest tally in the top half, and have not scored more than once in any of their last five games.

On paper, this marks the start of a tough stretch of fixtures that will show Town fans where they should be setting their sights for the rest of the season.

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Barnsley ended a run of four games without a win with a 2-0 victory against Forest Green Rovers with Devante Cole and Josh Martin getting their names on the scoresheet two weeks ago.

They followed that up with a strong showing at Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup, leaving the University of Bolton Stadium with a 2-1 win and progression to the second round.

After a drop in form, the Reds dropped down to eighth, three points outside the top six and, with the pressure beginning to mount on manager Michael Duff from some sections of the Barnsley faithful, a fourth away win of the season would be welcomed greatly.

Among teams in the top half, Shrewsbury are the only one to have scored fewer goals than Barnsley, but the Tykes have the joint-best defensive record across the whole division.

The last time they won away from home was back on October 1, when they narrowly beat Fleetwood Town 1-0.

Team News

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Shrewsbury could welcome Carl Winchester back into the starting lineup after he was only fit enough for the bench against Oxford.

Ryan Bowman could come in up front for Rob Street, but they do not have any other fresh injury concerns.

Duff confirmed that James Norwood is still missing with injury, and Jordan Williams is still touch-and-go with his own injury battle that started in September.

Barnsley could decide to bring Adam Phillips in from the start after he scored at Bolton last weekend, but also have no new injury worries to deal with either.

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:

Marosi; Pennington, Dunkley, Flanagan; Bennett, Moore, Bayliss, Leahy, Shipley; Bowman, Saydee

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Collins; Edwards, Kitching, Andersen; Williams, Phillips, Benson, Kane, Cadden; Tedic, Cole

We say: Shrewsbury Town 1-1 Barnsley

It will be a tough for either team to really get a grip of the game so a tight, cagey draw is expected between two teams with eyes on promotion.

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