With the Reds sat what seems comfortably in 6th place with a hefty 5 point gap over play-off contention rivals Peterborough, not to mention the 2 games we have in hand. We travel down to the south coast to play Portsmouth in what will no doubt be a very eventful affair!
Recent Form
The reds have endured an underwhelming January as we have been fought off by the likes off play-off rivals Bolton suffering a dreary defeat at home before losing again only a week after to Charlton Athletic down at The Valley 2-0 in a pragmatic fashion. However, in recent weeks the Tykes have gathered form again after back-to-back victories against Accrington Stanley and Oxford United, scoring a total of 5 goals between both games. New starlet Bobby Thomas has impressed reds fans as in just two games the central defender has 2 goal contributions to his name whilst also putting in 2 solid defensive performances and gelling with his defensive colleagues in a rapid succession. As for Portsmouth, the blues find themselves fluctuating in and out of the top half of the table having relied on their main man Colby Bishop up top supplying them with an impressive 11 goals in league 1 this season. Recently though Portsmouth were defeated away at home by the Posh ( Peterborough United ) 2-1 thanks to the likes of Johnson Clarke-Harris scoring a brace within the first half, yet their only goal came from a Peterborough player themselves. Pompey will no doubt be on there way to their previous winning form as prior to their last match they defeated Exeter and Fleetwood in an impressive style showing that they are more than capable to supply that finishing touch.
Injury and suspensions
With central midfielder Matty Wolfe set to be out until the end of the season at least with a ruptured ACL, alongside the likes of Josh benson still out and Luke Thomas only just regaining match fitness, more and more pressure will be piled onto that Red’s midfield trio mainly consisting of Philips,Kane and Connell which has proved effective this season but yet again it relies on them all keeping fit and preventing injury, however new signing Jonathon Russell from Huddersfield Town gives us more dynamic options within the midfield three. As for Portsmouth, Winger Jayden Reid is still sidelined with a long term knee injury which will see him out what still could be months, as well as highly-rated midfielder Joe Morrell accumulating 4 yellow cards meaning his next will see him suspended which could open the door of resting him to manager John Mousinho which will most definitely be a positive for Barnsley fans.
Transfer Roundup
Both sides have most definitely strengthened on deadline day ( some more than others ), meaning within the game we will no doubt see some new faces within the squad such as new striker Oli Shaw from Kilmarnock and also the previously mentioned Jonathon Russell. Portsmouth have also strengthened their squad significantly by adding the likes of former Fleetwood man Paddy Lane who had captured the eye of many championship clubs after his very impressive campaign so far. Another key signing for Portsmouth is Di’shon Bernard from Premier League side Manchester United which brings more pace and flexibility to that Portsmouth defence which we will have to look out for.
TykesInsight 