The Reds make a second visit of the season to Southend this weekend and we've got it covered here with our big match preview.

After last weekend's goalless draw at fellow promotion-chasers Portsmouth, Reds Head Coach, Daniel Stendel now takes his side back down south to face the Shrimpers in Sky Bet League One. 

Barnsley's run of long-distance away trips continues with this second visit to Roots Hall, following December's 4-2 Emirates FA Cup there. With this Saturday's fixture being televised on Sky Sports, the match will kick off at the earlier time of 12:30pm. 

Last weekend's second consecutive 0-0 draw has seen others close the gap on Stendel's Reds, but they do remain in the second automatic promotion spot going into the Southend fixture. 

Reds skipper, Adam Davies pulled off a superb penalty-save at Fratton Park to extend his fine form. That was his third clean sheet in February, his 15th of the 2018/19 campaign and the 62nd since arriving at Oakwell in the summer of 2014. 

There was bad news for the Reds this week on the injury front, with 18-goal top scorer, Kieffer Moore confirmed as being out for the rest of the season following his head injury sustained in the 4-1 victory at Gillingham.

A huge blow, but as Assistant Coach Dale Tonge explained in midweek when speaking with the press at Oakwell, it's an opportunity for others to step up to the plate. 

You can watch both Dale's and midfielder Mike Bähre's pre-match press conference videos in full over on iFollow Barnsley as they preview Saturday's trip to the seaside.

Our hosts at lunchtime this Saturday haven't won for seven games, and haven't tasted victory at home since their victory over Gillingham on New Year's Day. 

They did fight back from three goals down in their last Roots Hall fixture - the 3-3 draw with Portsmouth, in which experienced forward Simon Cox (pictured) bagged himself a hat-trick, a game also shown live on Sky Sports TV.

Along with the former Reading striker, Southend can call upon the services of a number of players who've been there and done it at a higher level.

Central defender Michael Turner represented Sunderland and Hull City in the top flight; Michael Kightly once played on the wing for Wolves in the Premier League and with promising youngsters Dru Yearwood and Stephen Humphrys in the ranks, Blues' manager Chris Powell has a good mix of players available to him. 

Former England international Powell has been in situ at Roots Hall since January of last year. The ex-Derby County and Charlton Athletic full-back had previous spells in charge at the Valley, coached at Pride Park and spent just over a year as manager of Huddersfield Town. 

The Reds were victorious at Oakwell against Southend back in November. A late Kieffer Moore goal giving Barnsley a 1-0 win on home soil. 

We did however lose in our last league visit to Roots Hall. A 2-1 defeat in October of 2015. 

The Shrimpers have the edge slightly in this fixture historically. 

Barnsley have won 15 clashes, there have been 15 draws with Southend on 17 victories. 

The two clubs first met back in 1938. That was a 2-2 draw in the FA Cup at Roots Hall. 

If you can't make it to Southend for this seaside trip, be sure to tune into iFollow Barnsley's match centre before kick off for LIVE and uninterrupted audio commentary. There is no live stream available due to Sky Sports' coverage.