In the final round of fixtures in the EFL Trophy group stage, Oldham Athletic will head to Oakwell to take on Barnsley.

The visitors are on the back of an FA Cup victory over Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend and are already qualified for the knockout rounds, while their hosts are unable to progress.

Match preview

Barnsley return to action at Oakwell on Wednesday aiming to build on a much-needed cup victory at the weekend, albeit while being unable to progress in the EFL Trophy in their final group outing.

After the return of promotion-winning manager Daniel Stendel over the summer, the South Yorkshire outfit have endured a poor start to their League One campaign, currently sitting 23rd having earned just nine points from their first 12 outings and only won two of those alongside seven defeats.

Those wins came consecutively with the most recent being the beginning of September, before the Reds went on an 11-game winless run in all competitions including nine losses, culminating in four straight league defeats and a draw against Oxford United.

Non-league Aldershot then visited Oakwell in the FA Cup first round at the weekend, and Stendel's side finally ended their rut in comfortable fashion, progressing with a 7-2 victory as Cameron McGeehan netted a hat-trick alongside Vimal Yoganathan's brace and goals from Reyes Cleary and Rylan Brownlie.

Now unable to progress in the EFL Trophy, having lost their first two games to Leeds United Under-21s and Fleetwood Town in the midst of their rut, but needing to rebuild confidence before their return to league action in a bid to escape the drop zone, Barnsley will hope to make it back-to-back home cup wins on Wednesday.

Their visitors, meanwhile, arrive in South Yorkshire in search of another cup win over third-tier opposition having already booked their place in the knockout stage of the EFL Trophy.

In their second season back in the EFL, after a 10th-placed League Two finish last time around and an EFL Trophy group-stage exit, Oldham Athletic currently sit 18th in England's fourth tier having won four and lost seven of their first 14 outings.

That is alongside a perfect start to the new EFL Trophy campaign, as they guaranteed a top-two group finish with a 1-0 home win over Fleetwood Town and a 4-2 triumph over Leeds United Under-21s.

Micky Mellon's side are now on the back of consecutive victories too, firstly returning to winning ways in the league last week by beating Northampton Town away from home, before hosting third-tier Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup at the weekend and winning 2-1 after extra time with Callum Kavanagh putting them ahead in normal time and Will Sutton scoring the decisive goal in the 110th minute.

Oldham Athletic now head into a second straight cup game in search of another victory to finish the group stage with a perfect record before turning their focus back to climbing up the League Two table.

Barnsley EFL Trophy form:

Barnsley form (all competitions):

Oldham Athletic EFL Trophy form:

Oldham Athletic form (all competitions):

Team News

Desperate for consecutive wins, Stendel will field a similar starting XI from the weekend's cup win, with Ben Hamed Toure and Fabio Jalo still out.

Brownlie may come in from the start after his goal off the bench, while McGeehan and Yoganathan will support a lone striker again after scoring three and two goals respectively at the weekend.

They should again join danger man Reyes Cleary, while Daniel Johnson joined Luca Connell in midfield on Saturday while Patrick Kelly was rested from the start.

Oldham may also be unchanged from their FA Cup victory with Ryan Delaney and Keenan Appiah-Forson still among those sidelined.

Kavanagh will continue to lead the line after his opener against Sheffield Wednesday with Mike Fondop regularly joining him up top.

Injuries and suspensions left the Latics unable to complete their bench on Saturday, meaning the likes of Oliver Norburn and Tom Pett may not be afforded rests.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:

Slicker; Okedina, Gale, Kay, Larkeche; Connell, Kelly; Yoganathan, McGeehan, Cleary; Adeyemo

Oldham Athletic possible starting lineup:

Hudson; Sutton, Daniels, Monthe; Scott-Morriss, Pett, Norburn, Robson; Chilvers; Fondop, Kavanagh

We say: Barnsley 2-1 Oldham Athletic

Barnsley's comfortable victory over Aldershot was a great first step in their bid to reverse their fortunes, and likely to continue with a full-strength XI in search of another win, we back them to get over the line in a tough game on Wednesday.

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