Barnsley will look to get out of a mini-slump when Lincoln City visit Oakwell for the first time in a league fixture since 1976 tonight from 7.45pm.

The Reds slipped out of the League One top six after a 1-0 loss at bottom club Morecambe on Saturday.

They are now ninth with 21 points from 15 games, three points outside the play-offs.

Lincoln are 15th with 18 points from 13 games. Mark Kennedy’s side won 1-0 win at second-placed Ipswich Town in their most recent away game, before drawing 1-1 at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Most of their nine away goals came in a 6-3 win at Bristol Rovers last month.

Head coach Michael Duff said: “Lincoln would definitely have taken this position at the start of the season. Mark has done really him and I know him really well.

"He's possession-based, that's his philosophy. But he has come away from that to work with what he's got and he's been successful. He has always been a 4-3-3 man at Man City (as a youth coach) but he's found a way at Lincoln. He's played a low block, made it really difficult for the opposition to break them down then been a threat on the counter-attack. It will be a difficult game for us.”

This will be Barnsley’s first home game since losing 2-0 at home to Exeter City last week. They have since drawn 0-0 at Bolton Wanderers then lost at Morecambe.

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Duff: “In the last three games we have conceded four shots on target, which is pretty good, but let in two goals and only taken one point. That's because we haven't scored enough goals. It's something to work on and improve.

“It's up to me and the coaching staff to find solutions and up to the players as well.

“It's more creating chances than the lack of finishing. We just have to keep working hard.

“We're getting them to recognise where they will score their goals, when to run into that area, points like body shape and other things. Then it is up to them to make the right decisions in games.”

He added: “We know we're not the finished article and we're not where we want to be.

“We fell down on quality on Saturday but the effort and desire and togetherness was there.”

Striker James Norwood added: “It's a massive opportunity to put things right. It was a disappointing result at the weekend. But the next game has come around quickly and it's an opportunity to get three points.

“We're very level-headed as a group. We didn’t get too up when we had four or five wins in a row and we don't get down when we lose. We know that's going to be the case in this league. One result against Morecambe won't define our season, we will probably win a game we shouldn't win.”