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

Relegation-threatened Shrewsbury Town will welcome Barnsley to New Meadow for Saturday's League One encounter.

The hosts are languishing in the League One drop zone, while the visitors are currently sitting in eighth position.

---

Match preview

Shrewsbury are currently sitting three points adrift from safety after winning two, drawing two and losing nine of their 13 league matches this season.

The Shrews endured a seven-game winless league run, before they ran out 5-3 winners in their away clash against relegation rivals Crawley Town.

Unfortunately for Shrewsbury, they have been unable to build upon that result, having fallen to back-to-back defeats.

After losing 2-0 in their home game against Exeter, Shrewsbury went on to lose 1-0 in Tuesday's away clash with Bristol Rovers following Jamie Lindsay's second-half effort.

Having shipped 23 goals in 13 matches, the Shrews currently share the division's third-worst defensive record with Blackpool, highlighting a key area for improvement if they are to move out of the bottom four.

In contrast to their hosts, Barnsley are sitting just outside the playoffs on goal difference after winning five, drawing four and losing three of their 12 league games.

The Tykes have found wins hard to come by in recent games, having won just one of their previous five league matches (D3, L1).

Barnsley played out back-to-back home draws and lost 2-0 in their away game against Huddersfield Town, before they got back to winning ways with a 2-1 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.

While they were unable to claim maximum points in midweek, their 2-2 draw against Charlton Athletic may have felt like a win after Max Watters equalised in the 95th minute after Luke Berry thought he had scored a stoppage-time winner.

Barnsley will now turn their focus to Saturday's contest, and they may fancy their chances of claiming maximum points after winning each of their last four matches against Shrewsbury.

---

Team News

Shrewsbury are still expected to be without midfielder Jordan Shipley and forward Joshua Kayode due to their respective injury issues.

Defender Aristote Nsiala was absent from Tuesday's matchday squad, making him a potential doubt for Saturday's home fixture.

Mal Benning could be brought into the side to replace George Nurse, who is unlikely to feature after he was forced off in the first half against Bristol Rovers.

Meanwhile, Barnsley midfielder Josh Benson is unavailable for selection after missing the last two matches with a hamstring injury.

Adam Phillips sat out the 2-2 draw with Charlton, and he remains a doubt for Saturday's away trip due to an ankle problem.

Defender Josh Earl will serve a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season in midweek.

Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup: Savin; Pierre, M. Feeney, J. Feeney; Gilliead, Rossiter, Ojo, Benning; Castledine; Lloyd, Marquis

Barnsley possible starting lineup: Slonina; De Gevigney, Roberts, Earl; O'Keeffe, Yoganathan, Russell, Connell, Gent; Humphrys, Keillor-Dunn

---

We say: Shrewsbury Town 1-2 Barnsley

Shrewsbury will be low on confidence after losing nine of their 13 league games this season, and we think that their difficult campaign will continue with a disappointing result at the weekend because we expect Barnsley to have the quality required to claim a narrow away victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

---

---