The Championship's bottom two clubs will face each other on Wednesday night as managerless Barnsley welcome Derby County to Oakwell.
Wayne Rooney's side are hoping to end a run of five matches without a win, while the Tykes are seeking their first league victory since August 14.
Match preview
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After a miserable run of seven successive league defeats – including last weekend's 2-1 loss away to Bristol City – Barnsley announced the dismissal of head coach Markus Schopp on Monday morning, after just 125 days in charge of the club.
The Austrian failed to hit the ground running at Oakwell, after replacing Valerien Ismael over the summer, and has left the Tykes sitting 23rd in the Championship with just eight points from 15 games.
Assistant coach Joseph Laumann will now take charge of first-team affairs on a temporary basis, starting with Wednesday's match against Derby.
Barnsley appear to be a shadow of the side who reached the playoffs last season. The Tykes had 19 points at this stage of the 2020-21 campaign and were sat nine points clear of the relegation zone. Now, only the Rams – who were deducted 12 points earlier this term – are positioned below them in the table.
The Yorkshire outfit were able to claim four points out of six when they played Derby last season, winning 2-0 at Pride Park and drawing 0-0 on home soil. However, they have won just two of their last nine home league games against the Rams, failing to win each of their last three.
With two favourable fixtures up next against the two clubs also sitting in the drop zone, Laumann will be hoping to see an immediate response from his players as they aim to get their season back on track.
However, another defeat for Barnsley would see them extend their losing streak to eight matches for the first time since November 2015.
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Derby County's unbeaten run of five matches came to an end at the hands of Blackburn Rovers, who claimed a 2-1 victory at Pride Park last weekend.
A brace inside the first 20 minutes from Ben Brereton Diaz gave the visitors a two-goal advantage before centre-back Curtis Davies pulled one back in the 89th minute for the hosts, netting his third of the campaign.
Wayne Rooney's side remain rooted to the foot of the table with just five points and are now seven points adrift of safety, following Cardiff City's draw with Stoke City, with the prospect of further sanctions on the horizon.
Derby head into Wednesday's trip to Oakwell having won only one of their last 16 away games in the Championship – a slender 1-0 win at relegation rivals Hull City earlier this season.
The Rams failed to score in both encounters against Barnsley last season, but were able to find the net 13 times in their previous five meetings, winning three times in the process.
Victory in midweek for Rooney's men could see Derby move off the foot of the table by goal difference for the first time since being deducted 12 points on September 22.
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Team News
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Barnsley remain without forward Carlton Morris, who is suffering with a knee injury, while versatile midfielder Callum Styles – who missed last weekend's defeat against Bristol City – is doubtful with a muscle problem.
Laumann is expected to stick with the 3-4-3 formation used throughout this campaign by former boss Schopp, with Toby Sibbick hoping he can force his way into the back three ahead of either Mads Andersen, Michal Helik or Liam Kitching.
Cauley Woodrow is set to lead the line as the central striker and he could be joined in attack by Devante Cole and Aaron Leya Iseka.
As for Derby, midfielders Jason Knight and Krystian Bielik remain out with respective thigh and knee injuries.
Experienced striker Colin Kazim-Richards has come on from the bench in each of the last four league matches since recovering from an Achilles injury, but the 31-year-old will now be hoping he can feature in the starting lineup ahead of either Louie Sibley or Kamil Jozwiak.
Sam Baldock could join Kazim-Richards in attack, while either Craig Forsyth or Lee Buchanan is set to start at left-back.
Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Collins; Sibbick, Helik, Kitching; Brittain, Gomes, Moon, Williams; Cole, Woodrow, Iseka
Derby County possible starting lineup:
Roos; Byrne, Jagielka, Davies, Buchanan; Morrison, Bird, Shinnie, Lawrence; Kazim-Richards, Baldock
We say: Barnsley 0-2 Derby County
Barnsley have conceded at least twice in three straight Championship matches and have kept just two clean sheets all season. The Rams, meanwhile, have looked much stronger in defence, conceding just 13 times which is only bettered by league leaders Bournemouth so far this campaign.
A closely-fought contest is set to be played out at Oakwell; however, we can see the Rams coming away with all three points, condemning the hosts to yet another defeat.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Barnsley win with a probability of 42.55%. A draw had a probability of 29.4% and a win for Derby County had a probability of 28.08%.
The most likely scoreline for a Barnsley win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.42%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.67%) and 2-1 (7.96%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (13.24%), while for a Derby County win it was 0-1 (11.01%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Barnsley would win this match.
