Barnsley U23s travel to Crewe Alexandra on Wednesday afternoon, looking to bounce back from the South Yorkshire derby defeat on Good Friday.
The young Reds were beaten 2-0 by Sheffield Wednesday at Middlewood Road, with Owls’ winger Fraser Preston bagging both goals before the interval.
Paul Harsley will be without midfielder Romal Palmer and left-back Ben Williams after both limped out of Friday’s game through injury.
Crewe are currently enjoying their best run of form this season and are unbeaten in their last six outings - winning four and keeping four clean sheets in the process.
Their eight goals scored during this period were registered by seven different players, with midfielder Oliver Finney scoring twice.
Lewis Reilly will be the one to watch for the Alex; the young forward has 12 goals to his name so far this campaign and sits joint fifth in the Professional Development League top scorers.
The 18-year-old got off the mark for the first team earlier this season, bagging a brace as Crewe lost 4-2 to Port Vale in the Checkatrade Trophy at Vale Park back in November.
Since then, Reilly has gone onto make four League Two appearances and has also featured in the FA Cup.
Alex Morris’ side are currently eighth in the Professional Development League North, two places and five points better off than the Reds.
However, the last time the two sides met, Barnsley ran out 3-1 winners on 10 November thanks to Jacob Brown’s early strike and a double from Victor Adeboeyjo.
The young Reds’ striker hasn’t scored since the 3-1 defeat to Huddersfield Town in mid-February, but will be confident of adding to his 13-goal haul on Wednesday.
Kick-off is at 1pm, and you can see how Paul Harsley’s side get on at Gresty Road by attending the game for FREE.
The Alexandra Stadium
Gresty Rd
Crewe
CW2 6EB
Alternatively, you can follow updates on the official Academy Twitter account: @AcademyBFC.
