BARNSLEY will hope to gain their first away win of the season against the leakiest defence in English professional football tomorrow when they visit fellow strugglers Peterborough United.
Posh are third-bottom in the Championship, two points adrift in the relegation zone and four ahead of the second-bottom Reds.
Mads Andersen’s PCR test for Covid-19 came back negative but head coach Poya Asbaghi said they were waiting to see if he is well enough to play. Aaron Leya Iseka is also unwell and being tested for Covid while Callum Brittain is a doubt for the game with a knock. Liam Kitching could return after injury.
This week United lost 2-0 at Stoke City on Saturday then 4-0 at Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday. They have collected just one point and scored only one goal in their last five games.
They have conceded 38 goals this season which is the most in the top four divisions. But almost three quarters of the goals they have shipped have been away from London Road where they have won three, drawn three and lost three so far – with two of the defeats by 1-0 scorelines against top three sides West Brom and Fulham.
The Reds will look to avoid a sixth straight away loss for the first time since the last six games of the 2017/18 relegation season. They are the only team yet to win away from home in the Championship, while the others still to do so in the EFL are Crewe Alexandra, Shrewsbury Town, Doncaster Rovers and Scunthorpe United.
The only Championship club xwwith a worse away record than Barnsley’s are Peterborough, with both collecting three points on the road so far.
No second tier side has fewer away goals than Barnsley with five.
Head coach Poya Asbaghi will oversee his first away match with Barnsley, following a 2-0 loss to Swansea on Wednesday on his debut in the Reds dugout. He said: “We know how crucial every game is. We always want to say it all comes down to one game but we’re just focusing on winning the next game because we know what situation we are in. It’s not my job to explain the table to players, everyone can do that. My job is to tell them how to win the next game. If we win, we can look at the table and say well done because it looks better.
"It gives you extra joy, somehow. But we're only in November and it is difficult to say these teams in April or May will be competing in this part of the table.
Darren Ferguson – who has managed Peterborough in 503 games across three spells – lost his first five against Barnsley with the Posh then won three in a row before losing at Oakwell as Doncaster manager in 2016.
Mark Beevers, who is from Barnsley, has been a regular in the Peterborough defence this season while former Reds trialist Siriki Dembele is their top-scorer with four goals.
The clubs have met 38 times with the Reds winning 16 and losing 17 while there have only been five draws.
Barnsley have won the last three meetings between the sides, keeping clean sheets in all three. Their last trip to London Road brought a 4-0 victory in League One in October 2018.
