A look ahead to Sunday’s Sky Bet League One meeting with Barnsley at Oakwell (12pm).
Peterborough United conclude the regular Sky Bet League One campaign with a trip to face fourth-placed Barnsley at Oakwell on Sunday (12pm) knowing that only a victory would give the club a chance of reaching the play-offs.
Three points for Darren Ferguson’s men and a defeat for the Rams at Sheffield Wednesday would guarantee sixth place for Posh but should the Rams pick up a point, Posh would need to better the goal difference. Put simply, Posh need to make sure they win their game against the Tykes, before results elsewhere become relevant.
Barnsley can’t move from their current position of fourth in the table and they are readying themselves for the play-offs with Bolton Wanderers their likely opponents. The games between Barnsley and Posh and Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County are being screened live by Sky Sports.
TEAM NEWS
Defender Nathanael Ogbeta has been ruled out for the season following a scan on a muscle injury sustained in the 0-0 draw with Bristol Rovers. Nathan Thompson continues to work hard in his recovery from an ankle injury, but there is no date set for his return.
The Posh boss has not divulged any other details about his squad but he does have plenty of options ahead of the clash with the Tykes. Barnsley are sweating over the fitness of key defenders Mads Andersen and Jordan Wililams, who have both have injury issues ahead of Sunday's game.
Andersen missed MK Dons match with an abductor issue and Williams has a slight hamstring injury. Both have undergone scans. Midfielder Luca Connell and Adam Phillips, who have not been involved in the Reds' last two games, are back in training and in contention.
ONE TO WATCH
Devante Cole (pictured below) has enjoyed a fine season for the Tykes. The much-travelled front man is the son of former Manchester United and Newcastle United forward Andrew Cole and has enjoyed stints at Motherwell, Bradford City, Fleetwood Town and Doncaster Rovers, but the 27-year-old is certainly going through a purple patch, goal-scoring wise, 16 in total this season including eight since the end of February.
FROM THE GAFFER
“Barnsley are a good team, they are strong in the middle of the park, have options in attack and have a real identity to the way that they play. It is similar to what Michael Duff deployed when he was manager of Cheltenham Town. For ourselves, we have prepared well this week, the players know what to expect and what they need to do and we know that if we reach the levels we are capable of then we can cause problems. We have to focus on ourselves, we have to do our job,” Darren Ferguson said.
TICKET NEWS
Tickets are now off sale at the Weston Homes Stadium Box Office and online, but supporters can purchase on the day with a £2 price increase. There is currently 1,825 fans making the journey.
POSH+
Because the game is live on Sky Sports, we are unable to stream the fixture via Posh+ in the UK, however overseas subscribers can watch the action with match passes available for £10.
PLAYED FOR BOTH
There have been a host of players to have turned out for both clubs including Ivan Toney (pictured below right) and Grant McCann. Current First Team Coach Dale Tonge (pictured below centre) also represented Barnsley, as did, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, the under 18s boss, who turned out for the Tykes with great distinction. Among the others to play for both include;
Ben Alnwick, Miles Addison, Wayne Bullimore, Arron Davies, Liam Dickinson, Callum Elder, Ian Hendon, Craig Ireland, Tom Kennedy, Lloyd Isgrove, George Moncur, Lewin Nyatanga, Emile Sinclair, Peter Price, Ryan Tunnicliffe, Jack Walls, Luke Steele (pictured below left), Ryan Tunnicliffe and Dave Regis.
CLASSIC CONTEST
Jack Marriott was on target in last season’s 2-0 victory over Barnsley at Oakwell with the second goal still being fought over between two players and we are definitely not igniting that row again. You can watch highlights from that win here.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Supporters can purchase car parking facilities at the game here.
KIT COLOURS
Posh will be wearing the blue home kit for the fixture.
MATCH COVERAGE
If you can’t make the game, you can follow all of the action in a number of ways.
- Live match updates on our official Twitter feed @theposh.
- Behind the scenes coverage and updates on our official Instagram story.
- Keep up to date with minute-by-minute updates on our Live Match Centre here.
- Download the official Peterborough United app to get all of the action direct to your smartphone.
MAN IN THE MIDDLE
The match referee is Scott Oldham.