Barnsley U23s face Coventry City on Friday afternoon at the Oakwell Training Ground and will be looking to record their second victory over the Sky Blues in five months.
The young Reds produced a five-star performance in their penultimate game of the 2017/18 Professional Development League campaign, running out 5-1 winners back in April.
Victor Adeboyejo and Amir Berkovits both netted twice for Barnsley and Sam Fielding was also on the scoresheet on a potent afternoon at the Alan Higgs Centre.
A similar performance on Friday would be just the tonic for Martin Devaney’s side who have lost three consecutive games and conceded ten goals in the process.
Monday’s 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace was harsh on the young Reds, who had dominated the first half at Selhurst Park before the hosts ran riot after the interval.
Barnsley can move up to eighth in the North division with victory over Jason Farndon’s team, providing Hull City lose and Crewe Alexandra fail to win.
Coventry, meanwhile, are seventh in the South division with one win and a draw from their opening four fixtures. The Sky Blues recorded an impressive victory over Burnley a fortnight ago as they came from 2-0 down at half-time to triumph 4-2 at the Ricoh Arena.
Reise Allassani was the hero for City that day as he scored two late goals to secure all three points, and the young striker was also on target in Coventry’s last outing as they drew 2-2 with Sheffield Wednesday. The Owls snatched a share of the spoils in dramatic fashion as Fraser Preston netted the equaliser nine minutes into stoppage time.
Prior to our encounter back in April, the only other meeting between these two sides was in September 2016 when the Sky Blues ran out 4-1 winners in South Yorkshire. Devon Kelly-Evans netted a hat-trick for the visitors and Bilal Siyoud was also on target, while Josh Kay scored a consolation penalty for the Reds.
You can see how the U23s get on for free at the Oakwell Training Ground, kick-off is at 2pm.
Alternatively, you can follow the action on our official Academy Twitter account: @AcademyBFC.