Preview: Barnsley vs. Nottingham Forest - prediction, team news, lineups

Steve Cooper will look to extend Nottingham Forest's unbeaten Championship record to three matches when they face Barnsley at Oakwell on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, the Tykes, who sit three points above their next opponents in the standings, are without a win in seven fixtures.

Match preview

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On the back of Forest's 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town, Cooper would have had high hopes ahead of his opening game in charge of the East Midlands outfit.

Despite only claiming a 1-1 draw against Millwall, the newly-appointed manager will take the positives from his side fighting back to claim a share of the spoils.

The result keeps Forest in the relegation zone, still two points adrift of safety, but a fresh approach under Cooper has every chance of paying off in the long term.

However, with a tough run of fixtures scheduled for the end of October, there is pressure to take full advantage of a triple-header against Barnsley, Birmingham City and Blackpool.

Forest's issues have not necessarily come away from the City Ground, with four points having been collected from their last two fixtures on the road.

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Barnsley are still going through a transitional period under Markus Schopp, lowering expectations of a second successive appearance in the playoffs.

Nevertheless, the Austrian will recognise that he is coming under increasing pressure at Oakwell with Barnsley having not won a game since August 14.

Five draws from nine matches have kept Barnsley outside of the bottom three, but the 1-0 reverse at Blackpool was a blow to their hopes of progressing into the mid-table positions.

The Yorkshire outfit have now scored just one goal in nine halves of football, that solitary strike being required to earn a point at Stoke City earlier this month.

Team News

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Lyle Taylor will almost certainly come back into the Forest starting lineup after Lewis Grabban was withdrawn during the first half at the weekend.

Philip Zinckernagel and Alex Mighten may also start in the final third, taking the places of Joe Lolley and Brennan Johnson respectively.

Barring any late fitness issues, the defence and midfield should remain the same as Cooper looks to find some stability.

Schopp will consider making a number of alterations to his Barnsley XI after their setback at Bloomfield Road.

Romal Palmer and Aaron Leya Iseka are both pushing for recalls in midfield and attack respectively, but Schopp may keep faith with his previous selection for the back three.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Collins; Moon, Helik, Kitching; Brittain, Styles, Palmer, Williams; Frieser, Woodrow, Iseka

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Worral, McKenna, Figueiredo; Spence, Yates, Garner, Lowe; Zinckernagel, Johnson; Taylor

We say: Barnsley 1-1 Nottingham Forest

With both managers under a certain level of pressure ahead of this game, we expect a battle at Oakwell. While all three results are a possibility, a low-scoring draw appears to be the most likely outcome.