Preview: Barnsley vs. Swansea City - prediction, team news, lineups

Poya Asbaghi begins his reign as Barnsley head coach with a home fixture against Swansea City on Wednesday evening.

At a time when the Tykes are four points adrift of safety in the Championship, the visitors occupy 12th position in the table.

Match preview

© Reuters

While Swansea are very much on an upward trajectory under Russell Martin, there will be a sense of frustration over their last two results in the Championship.

On the back of being thrashed 4-0 at Bournemouth, Swansea looked well on the way to a welcome return to winning ways when leading Blackpool in South Wales.

However, the Swans had to settle for a share of the spoils after conceding an equaliser four minutes from time, just the fifth time that they had shipped a goal on home turf.

Although Swansea are in a much better place compared to a couple of months ago, they remain with just six wins from 18 matches, far below expectations and what is required to challenge for the playoffs.

Despite the gap to sixth-placed Queens Park Rangers sitting at just five points, Swansea can ill-afford another game without success as the teams above them continue to collect points on a regular basis.

From Barnsley's perspective, this is the start of a new era for the third time in little more than a year, Asbaghi now tasked with trying to keep the club in the Championship.

The promotion dreams under Valerien Ismael are very much a distant memory, and the former Sweden Under-21s boss now has the difficult job of implementing a new playing style while moving his team out of the relegation zone.

A long-term target for the Yorkshire side, Asbaghi will be given time, but he requires an instant response from a group of players who have lost nine of their last 10 games.

The sole positive from Saturday's 4-1 reverse was Victor Adeboyejo netting his second strike in three outings.

Team News

© Reuters

Barnsley switched to a back four on Saturday, a sign that Asbaghi will not use their tried-and-trusted defensive three going forward.

The Tykes could line up with a similar team to the one from the weekend, Aaron Leya Iseka and Adeboyejo most likely to be handed a recall.

However, Callum Brittain is also available after a ban and may come back into the side at right-back.

Swansea are able to call upon Ryan Bennett after the defender served his one-match suspension on Saturday.

The centre-back may take the spot of Ben Cabango, but that could prove to be the only change to the starting lineup.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Collins; Brittain, Helik, Andersen, Williams; Styles, Benson; Adeboyejo, Palmer, Iseka; Woodrow

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Hamer; Bennett, Naughton, Manning; Laird, Grimes, Downes, Bidwell; Ntcham, Paterson; Piroe

We say: Barnsley 1-2 Swansea City

With Barnsley heading into the unknown with Asbaghi, this is a difficult match to predict. While we expect instant improvements from the Tykes, it may not be enough to get the better of a Swansea side who have an effective way of playing under Martin.