Lincoln City have the chance to make it three wins in a row as they travel to the Oakwell Stadium tonight to face Barnsley who are ninth place in SkyBet League One.
A dramatic late winner against play-off chasing Stockport County extended City’s unbeaten run to five games and put them in serious contention to finish inside of the top two.
The massive 2-1 win at Edgeley Park on Boxing Day was secured via goals from Reeco Hackett and a late penalty scored by Rob Street for Michael Skubala’s men.
That huge win took City up to second in the league, just three points off league leaders Cardiff City and seven points clear of seventh place Huddersfield Town.
City’s head-coach Skubala will serve a touchline ban and won’t be present on the sidelines against Barnsley after accumulating his third booking of the season.
Credit: Graham Burrell
Opponents: Barnsley
The Tykes go into the game sat in ninth place and seven points away from the play-off spots, having played the fewest number of games in the league at just 19.
Conor Hourihane’s men have won just two of their last five games in the league and lost the other three, one of which, was a defeat against Lincoln City at the LNER Stadium just 20 days ago.
Their last match was a disappointing home defeat against Mansfield Town on Boxing Day, with Barnsley letting a 2-0 lead slip – losing 3-2 courtesy of a late goal scored by Aaron Lewis.
Team News:
On tonights game, Skubala said: “It is another big game for us. This is a really difficult league because everyone is beating everyone, so we know we need to be at our best again.
“We went to Stockport on Boxing Day and really deserved the three points, so it was great to get them. We now need to produce a similar performance.”
Head-to-Head:
Last season was the first time that the two sides had clashed in 15 years.
The Imps have won two out of the last three encounters since then, beating Barnsley 3-1 when the two sides met earlier this month as in-form winger Reeco Hackett netted a brace.
Last season, City found a 2-1 victory at the LNER Stadium via goals from Ben House just three minutes before the break and a second from Bailey Cadamarteri to overturn the visitor’s early lead.
In the penultimate game of last season, goals from Erik Ring and House put City 2-0 up before the Hatters turned the game around after the break to keep their promotion hopes alive.
Played for Both:
Two current Lincoln City players have also featured for Barnsley in the past.
Centre-Half Adam Jackson spent three years playing for tonights opponent, signing for what was then Paul Heckingbottom’s side in 2016-17. He made 34 appearances across three seasons for the Tykes, with two of those coming in the Championship.
Dexter Lembikisa has also played for both sides as the Imp spent last season on loan at the Oakwell, making 12 appearances in his time in South Yorkshire as Barnsley finished in 12th place.