Preview: Barnsley vs. Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

Fulham square off against Barnsley on Saturday afternoon knowing that another victory will put them into territory where they can start thinking about securing promotion back to the Premier League.

At a time when the visitors sit 14 points clear at the top of the Championship standings, Barnsley are in 23rd position, five points adrift of safety.

Match preview

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Up until the sending off of Ryan Manning, Fulham were being made to work by opponents Swansea City, but Marco Silva's side soon showed their ruthless streak after the break.

The Cottagers netted five times - the latter two strikes coming from Welshman Neco Williams - as they recorded a 5-1 victory, their fourth victory in succession.

Now with a 14-point lead, Bournemouth's two games in hand on Fulham have almost been rendered irrelevant, and Silva knows that 16 points from their final 10 matches will secure a place in the Premier League for next season.

Right now, it is important that complacency does not become a factor, but Silva may stress to his players that they will be on the brink of achieving their target before the international break if they can defeat the Tykes and West Bromwich Albion.

As well as boasting 89 goals from just 36 outings, Fulham now also possess the joint-best defensive record in the division having conceded just twice in their last four matches.

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From Barnsley's perspective, there will no longer be any fear when it comes to facing Fulham now that they have put together their best run of form all season.

Nevertheless, conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Stoke City in midweek has dented their survival bid, Poya Asbaghi's side still five points adrift of Reading.

With 11 matches remaining, however, anything feels possible for a team who have collected 10 points from six matches, nearly half of their total for the entire campaign.

Domingos Quina, so often a backup player during his time in English football, has made a positive impact since his January arrival, and Asbaghi will feel that his side have every chance of remaining in the second tier providing that the Portuguese continues to impress.

Team News

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Barring any injury issues, Asbaghi may be prepared to stick with the Barnsley XI which got agonisingly close to seeing off Stoke.

Of the injured list, Aaron Leya Iseka is ahead of Cauley Woodrow in terms of making a return, but the attacker will only be named among the replacements at best.

Having had the opportunity to rest players during the second half against Swansea, Silva may also be prepared to named an unchanged XI.

If any rotation is to take place, it will likely come in the Fulham midfield with Nathaniel Chalobah and Tom Cairney both alternatives in the centre of the pitch.

Silva also has no concerns regarding potential two-game bans for 10 yellow cards, with Aleksandar Mitrovic topping the cautions list with seven.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Collins; Andersen, Helik, Kitching; Brittain, Styles, Gomes, Vita; Bassi, Morris, Quina

Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Williams, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Reed, Seri; Wilson, Carvalho, Kebano; Mitrovic

We say: Barnsley 0-3 Fulham

Given the improvements that Barnsley have made in recent weeks, you cannot completely write them off ahead of this contest. However, if Fulham claim an early lead, they could cruise to victory at Oakwell, and that is how we see things panning out.

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