A look at today's 3pm kick-off at Oakwell.
PREDICTED LINE-UPS
Barnsley (4-2-3-1): Cooper; Watson, Shepherd, Earl, Ogbeta; Bland, Connell; Vickers, Phillips, McGoldrick; Keillor-Dunn.
Port Vale (3-5-2): Gauci; Debrah, Humphreys, C Hall; Gabriel, Croasdale, Byers, Garrity, Headley; Paton, Cole.
TEAM NEWS
Barnsley: Injured: Georgie Gent (Achilles), Fabio Jalo (knee), Marc Roberts.
Port Vale: Injury doubts: Liam Gordon, Mitch Clark, Kyle John.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Mike Baggaley, The Valiant newsletter
Vale have picked up back-to-back league wins, over Exeter and Mansfield, having not got the points they deserved when they failed to win any of their first seven.
Former Barnsley striker Devante Cole has made a difference since he was signed from West Brom on deadline day.
He’s become the first Vale player to score in each of his first three league games in 24 years.
If he can score on Saturday, he would be the first to manage four in a row for 90 years.
KEY PLAYER
Devante Cole
One of Barnsley’s most prolific goal-scorers in recent years is due to return to Oakwell as an away player.
Having had a brief loan as a teenager in 2014, Cole was Barnsley’s top-scorer in both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns, netting 16 then 18 goals respectively.
He then was one of several key men to leave at the end of their contracts last year and West Bromwich Albion but all of his 14 Championship appearances for them were off the bench and he left last month to join Vale.
He has a goal in all three of his league appearances for them so far and is their top-scorer, despite playing just a third of the games, because no one else has netted more than once in the league.
Cole, now 30, scored 43 goals in 152 games for Barnsley, and has 68 in League One in his career.
He is likely to come up against centre-backs he played and trained with such as Jack Shepherd and Josh Earl.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Reds 7, Vale 0 – August 5, 2023
Barnsley recorded their highest opening day win ever and the biggest by any team in English professional football since 1962. The Reds, playing under Neill Collins for the first time, were not dominant in the first half but still led through Devante Cole’s opener then Dan Jones scored an own goal just before the break. Barnsley ran riot after the interval with Cole soon completing his hat-trick before Liam Kitching finished smartly from a superb Herbie Kane pass then Jon Russell and debutant Andy Dallas headed in.
Reds 1, Vale 1 – September 13, 2022
This midweek match was Barnsley’s only game of the week as their Saturday fixture with Portsmouth had been postponed due to the death of the Queen. Kitching headed in a Jordan Williams cross just after half-time but Ellis Harrison levelled on 83 minutes.
Reds 1, Vale 1 – February 14, 2006
Andy Ritchie’s side would be promoted via the play-off final in May but were frustrated by this result against relegation-battling Vale. Paul Hayes opened the scoring just before the hour but Michael Cummins headed in a late leveller.
Reds 3, Vale 1 – December 28, 1999
Barnsley won their final match of the millennium. Dave Bassett’s side dominated but did not take the lead until the second half when goals by Eric Tinkler and Darren Barnard put them in control. Jeff Minton pulled one back but Neil Shipperley secured the win.
