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NederlandWith nothing to play for following their eliminations from the EFL Trophy, Barrow and Leicester City Under-21s prepare for battle on Tuesday night at Holker Street.
The two clubs are guaranteed to finish outside of the top two in Northern Section Group G and will be anticipating the final blow of the full-time whistle this week.
Match preview
© Reuters
With League One sides Fleetwood Town and Accrington Stanley riding off into the sunset in Group G, Barrow's point on the opening matchday against the latter is all that Mark Cooper's side have to show for their efforts so far.
The League Two outfit went down on penalties to Accrington Stanley after a 2-2 draw on matchday one before being swept aside 3-1 by Fleetwood last time out, although they would soon be the ones providing the dominant performances in the FA Cup.
Indeed, Barrow eased to a resounding 4-0 success over Banbury United in the first round on Saturday courtesy of strikes from Josh Gordon, Offrande Zanzala, Oliver Banks and Jordan Stevens, but they enter Tuesday's game having failed to win any of their last five in League Two.
Victory at Banbury in the FA Cup did at least end a six-game winless run for Barrow across all competitions, and while a win here would add a bit of gloss to their EFL Trophy campaign, it will prove inconsequential come the final whistle.
Meanwhile, the EFL Trophy cannot come to an end soon enough for Leicester's Under-21s, who have accrued zero points and one goal from their two group matches so far while letting in nine at the other end of the pitch.
The young Foxes were put to the sword by a Callum Morton-inspired Fleetwood on matchday one - losing 4-1 as Morton scored three - before Accrington put five unanswered goals past them with five different goalscorers to kill off any hopes of advancing.
Steve Beaglehole's side will enter this dead rubber wondering how they failed to come away with all three points from their Premier League 2 clash with Arsenal's Under 23s, as they were 3-0 up entering second-half injury time before Tim Akinola, Omari Hutchinson and Folarin Balogun completed a sensational comeback for the Gunners.
The last thing that the visitors wanted after throwing away those three points in calamitous fashion is a meaningless away game in the EFL Trophy, but Beaglehole's men must still endeavour to end an otherwise doomed campaign on a high note on Tuesday.
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Team News
Barrow were forced to cope without Jamie Devitt for the cup win at Banbury due to a calf injury sustained in training, while Tom Beadling and Mike Jones will also sit this one out.
Stevens was fit enough to start and score at Banbury after shaking off an ankle issue, and Cooper will certainly give his up-and-coming players run-outs here with nothing on the line.
Hull City loanee Festus Arthur is one man hoping to take advantage of that opportunity, with Matthew Platt potentially dropping out having just made his own return to fitness.
As for Leicester, Beaglehole will also ponder numerous changes for midweek, with Saturday's pulsating draw at Arsenal surely taking its toll on some of his crop and three players in Oliver Ewing, Ben Nelson and Tawanda Maswanhise away on international duty.
Sixteen-year-old Will Alves came off at half time in that game, but the 2005-born attacker will hope to be given another opportunity from the first whistle against EFL opposition this week.
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Moloney; Hutton, Arthur, Jones, Grayson, Ntlhe; Stevens, White, Jones, Kay; Sea
Leicester City Under-21s possible starting lineup:
Odunze; Hughes, Spencer-Adams, R. Nelson, Flynn; Braybrooke, Brunt; Pennant, Fitzhugh, Alves; Wakeling
We say: Barrow 1-1 Leicester City Under-21s (Barrow to win on penalties)
Leicester's prospects have struggled to keep the back door shut away from home this season, but with Barrow not in terrific form at home and set to field a weakened team with nothing on the line, we expect the two sides to play out a draw before the hosts' greater experience sees them through on penalties.
