With the playoff fight at the top end of the League Two table heating up, Barrow and Newport County will do battle in a pivotal contest at Holker Street.
Having dropped off the pace in the automatic promotion race, the hosts now sit sixth in England's fourth tier, while their visitors find themselves 11th but are only six points worse off and two points outside of the playoff places.
Match preview
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Barrow will return to action at Holker Street on Saturday with the aim of getting back to winning ways and extending an unbeaten streak in League Two in their bid to win promotion to England's third tier.
A seven-match winning run in late 2023 firmly inserted the Bluebirds into pole position in the top-three race, and a 1-0 win at home to Milton Keynes Dons in early February left them in a strong position with 53 points on the board from 30 matches.
They have since endured a tougher run and quickly lost ground, though, adding just eight more points to that tally in the last seven attempts, as their two wins in that spell came consecutively at home to Gillingham and Colchester United in March after suffering three straight defeats.
Aiming to extend that streak to three consecutive wins, Pete Wild's side then faced a tough trip to playoff-chasing Walsall last Tuesday and took a point from a 1-1 draw thanks to Dean Campbell's 53rd-minute leveller from the penalty spot, before they most recently hosted Harrogate Town at the weekend and again took a share of the spoils as the meeting ended goalless.
Having now dropped to sixth spot as a result of their notable dip in form, with a six-point gap up to the top three and just a five-point lead over the chasing pack in the playoff fight, albeit with a game in hand on most sides around them, Barrow will be desperate to correct their form in the final run of the League Two season to improve their promotion hopes, starting with a fifth game unbeaten and a return to winning ways on Saturday.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, travel north with the aim of further reducing the gap between the two sides in the playoff race on Saturday.
It has certainly been a creditable season for Newport County, who currently sit 11th on 55 points from 38 outings, having won 16 of those while suffering 15 defeats.
After moving into the playoff picture with a fine run between Boxing Day and the end of February, with an 11-match span producing seven wins, two draws and just two losses, the Exiles again looked set to be confined to a mid-table finish, as back-to-back 1-0 losses to Mansfield Town and Stockport County this month left them on 49 points from 36 games.
Graham Coughlan's side have bounced back in style since, though, and restored their surprise top-seven hopes, putting together consecutive three-point hauls heading into the weekend as Aaron Wildig netted a brace alongside goals from Adam Lewis, Harry Charsley and Seb Palmer-Houlden in a 5-3 triumph over Morecambe, before they most recently won 2-0 away at seventh-placed AFC Wimbledon on Saturday with Bryn Morris and Kyle Jameson on the scoresheet.
Having reduced the gap to the top seven to just two points with that victory, and moved within six points of their sixth-placed hosts, Newport will bid to make it three wins on the bounce on Saturday to further strengthen their playoff bid ahead of the run-in.
Team News
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Pete Wild may opt to make several changes to his Barrow team for Saturday's game, with Ben Whitfield likely to return in an advanced midfield role, having netted a team-high tally of 10 goals in all competitions so far this term, including seven alongside three assists in League Two.
Despite having only managed four fourth-tier goals so far this term, Dom Telford will hope to feature up front from the outset, with January arrival Cole Stockton getting the nod alongside Emile Acquah in recent weeks.
If Whitfield comes back in from the outset, Robbie Gotts could drop out with Kian Spence and Dean Cornelius remaining mainstays in midfield, while veteran James Chester will continue to play a key role at the heart of a back three.
Graham Coughlan may opt to field an unchanged Newport County starting XI from their away win over AFC Wimbledon last time out, although there is competition in attack, even in Omar Bogle's absence, with Seb Palmer-Houlden and Luke Jephcott both vying to displace Offrande Zanzala and start up top.
In a 3-5-2 shape, whoever is preferred will join star Will Evans up top, with the 26-year-old having notched up 24 goals in all competitions so far this term including 20 and three assists in 38 league appearances.
Elsewhere, Aaron Wildig, Bryn Morris and Harry Charsley should continue in the engine room while Matt Baker, Scot Bennett and Kyle Jameson are bound to line up in an unaltered back three after their latest clean sheet.
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Ray, Chester, Feely; Stephenson, Spence, Cornelius, Newby; Whitfield; Telford, Stockton
Newport County possible starting lineup:
Townsend; Baker, Bennett, Jameson; Payne, Charsley, Wildig, Morris, Lewis; Evans, Palmer-Houlden
We say: Barrow 1-1 Newport County
With Barrow left slightly frustrated by consecutive draws and Newport travelling with momentum in the playoff race, we anticipate an intriguing encounter on Saturday and cannot quite pick a winner, instead opting for a low-scoring draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
