Barnsley return to Oakwell on Saturday with the aim of stretching an unbeaten run to five matches and strengthening their League One automatic promotion hopes, having enjoyed a pleasing campaign on the whole thus far to sit fourth.
Bidding for a top-two finish this time around after falling short in the playoff final last year, the Reds have amassed 60 points from their opening 32 games under the management of Neill Collins, winning 17 of those while only taking six defeats, with league leaders Portsmouth being the only side to suffer fewer losses.
After enjoying an 11-game unbeaten streak to put themselves in strong contention in the automatic promotion race, their latest defeat came at home to Exeter City in late January, but they have bounced back impressively since, adding eight points to their tally in the last four outings, having firstly taken a point from a 1-1 draw away at fellow promotion-chasers Bolton Wanderers.
Then on the back of a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient and a 1-1 draw away at Shrewsbury Town thanks to Herbie Kane’s injury-time leveller, Collins’s men most recently travelled to take on strugglers Fleetwood Town last weekend and put a crucial three-point haul on the board in another 2-1 triumph, having initially gone ahead through Sam Cosgrove before Kane restored their lead with the decisive goal on the hour mark.
While they have arguably not been convincing in recent weeks, Barnsley have been able to put the disappointment from their Exeter defeat behind them, and now only trailing their second-placed visitors by six points with a game in hand, they will set out to gain important ground with a second straight victory on Saturday to move within touching distance of the top two.
They meet a Derby County side who will aim to extend that gap, however, in the midst of an eye-catching run of form in their own bid to climb back to the Championship this term.
From their 33 games thus far, Paul Warne’s side have collected 66 points, with only leaders Portsmouth managing more than their 20 wins, while no side have conceded as few as the 29 goals they have conceded.
That strong standing in the top two is in no small part down to a hot streak in recent weeks, with the Rams having bounced back from a draw with Lincoln City and a defeat to Reading in January in style with a five-match unbeaten run, firstly seeing off Cheltenham Town and Charlton Athletic in 2-1 and 1-0 wins respectively.
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The Rams were then held to a 1-1 draw by a late Aaron Pierre leveller at home to Shrewsbury Town, but they now head into the weekend on the back of consecutive victories again, firstly beating Exeter City 3-0 on their
travels thanks to goals from Max Bird, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Tom Barkhuizen, before most recently hosting playoff-chasing Stevenage at the weekend and prevailing in a 1-0 win, with Louie Sibley netting the decisive goal in injury time.
Having kept hold of second spot with that dramatic victory, albeit only leading Bolton Wanderers on goal difference and Barnsley by six points having played a game more than both, Derby County will now set out to strengthen their position in the automatic promotion fight with what would be a pivotal victory at Oakwell to move further clear.
