BARNSLEY will look to end Wycombe Wanderers’ long unbeaten home run and continue their own fine away form from 3pm.
The Chairboys are 14th – eight points clear of the relegation zone and 18 off the top six – while the Reds are fourth.
Barnsley will look for their tenth away win of the season while they have lost the fewest on the road in English professional league football with just one defeat in 16 games, and none in eight.
Wycombe last week reached the EFL Trophy final at Wembley on April 7 against Peterborough United.
They have only lost three of their last 15 games in all competitions.
The Buckinghamshire club are unbeaten in nine home games, winning five and drawing four.
A run of one win in 17 league games across four months took Matt Bloomfield’s Wycombe from seventh in October to 19th last month, four points off the drop. But they won 3-1 at Cheltenham then thrashed high-flying Peterborough 5-2. They then lost 2-1 at Bolton, drew 0-0 at home to Oxford, lost 1-0 at Stevenage on Saturday, after goalkeeper Max Stryjek was sent off on 48 minutes, then won 2-0 at home to Cheltenham on Tuesday. In midweek they missed a penalty for handball by Reds loanee Jack Shepherd but scored in the 86th and 89th minutes.
Head coach Neill Collins told the Chronicle: “They have a good squad and a lot of good individuals.
“It’s a reminder for anyone getting carried away, they beat Peterborough 5-2, they only lost narrowly to Bolton, and drew with Oxford. We will treat them with the utmost respect and we know our performance levels need to stay at the end same level.”
Collins added: “Wycombe have had players in and out, and new signings.
“They have settled and they have some good players back available.
“They are always good at home and have a Wembley final to look forward to. They are coming off a win as well.
“Every away game is a big challenge because of the environment we’re going into. We’ve done really well with that. But it’s another big challenge.
“They probably wanted to be up where we are in the table and they have the players for that.”
Bloomfield took over last season from long-serving manager Gareth Ainsworth who was known for a direct brand of football. Collins said: “Matt played under Gareth and is a Wycombe legend. He’s definitely put his own stamp on it.
“It takes time. But they have a good mix. They have some of the traits Gareth had but good footballers who can hurt you. Sometimes you know exactly what you’re getting but we know we have to be good at everything in this game because they can play in different ways.”
Former Barnsley midfielder Josh Scowen returned from injury last week and has been on the bench this week.
Right-back Jason McCarthy, who spent the 2017/18 season at Oakwell, returned from injury on Saturday but did not play in midweek.
Barnsley have won six of their 11 games with Wycombe and five of the last six. They have won their last two games at Adams Park, with Slobodan Tedic heading in the late winner almost a year ago in a 1-0 victory. The Reds also won 1-0 at Oakwell in November with Sam Cosgrove scoring an injury-time winner after goalkeeper Stryjek dropped the ball having fallen to the floor claiming a foul.
Collins said: “It felt like a big win. One point that night would have been less than we deserved. We were in the ascendancy for most of the game. It will be equally tough and, if we can grind out a similar result, we will all be happy.”
