A significant clash between the Championship’s bottom two sides takes place at Kenilworth Road on Tuesday when Luton Town lock horns with Barnsley as both teams grapple for their league status.
The Hatters’ reunion with Nathan Jones, who re-joined the club in May following a previous spell in 2019, had been going fairly well with two draws and one victory, but Reading’s 5-0 humbling on Saturday has put a dent in their survival hopes.
Whilst their South Yorkshire counterparts also had a fairly decent time aside from their most recent outing, with wins over QPR and Blackburn Rovers and a draw with play-off hopefuls Millwall proceeding a worrying 4-0 hammering by the hands of fellow relegation candidates Stoke City last weekend.
Which means that ‘The Tykes’ currently find themselves four-points adrift from safety, with Luton five-points behind survival gate-keepers Hull City.
Barnsley will be hoping to continue their decent away form when they visit the home of Luton midweek, winning three of their last five games on their travels.
Although, Town will be hoping to complete their league double over Gerhard Struber’s men following their 3-1 win eleven months ago, a result that was lift-off for their league campaign. Flash forward to present day, Barnsley will be hoping to sign and deliver an eviction notice to ‘The Hatters’, leaving them to find their place in League One next season.
Luton Town have no substantial selection dilemmas going into the game mid-week but will be happy to see James Collins, who has notched 12 goals this season, feature following his inclusion in the squad that were annihilated by Reading.
Expecting inevitable line-up alteration for both sides coming off eye-opening results, Nathan Jones may recall winger Callum McManaman whilst Gerhard Struber may look to Romal Palmer, who could possibly return from injury.
In what is going to be a nervy game with mammoth ramifications, I think the shares will be spoiled at Kenilworth Road as both sides wrestle with the likelihood of their return to the third tier of English football next season.
Match Preview written by Ethan Evans