BARNSLEY will look to continue their strong home form when they host fellow mid-table side AFC Wimbledon from 3pm on Saturday.
The Dons are 14th in League One, a point clear of the Reds, who have two games in hand.
Barnsley are unbeaten in three at home in 2026, beating Blackpool and Stevenage then drawing with Northampton.
After Tuesday’s match at Stevenage was called off, head coach Hourihane told the Chronicle: “We should be going into the game now fresh and ready to go.
“We have two important home games.
“Our performances have been OK at home over the last few months and we need to keep that going now heading into these two.”
After winning the League Two play-off final, Johnnie Jackson’s side collected 25 points from their first 13 games this season, leaving them fourth in October and a point off top.
They then won just one out of 14 and fell to within a point of the relegation zone, but won 1-0 at bottom club Port Vale last week with an 88th-minute goal.
They also won 3-2 at home to Reading on Saturday, with their first home league goals in five games since November.
Wimbledon then lost 2-1 at home to Northampton in the EFL Trophy quarter-final on Tuesday with a much-changed team.
While Wimbledon have only conceded 13 goals at home – one of the lowest in the division – they have shipped 26 away. But they have the fifth best away record in the division with 20 points from 15 games.
Hourihane said: “They’ve picked up their form the last couple of games.
“They’re a team obviously that had a really good start to the season, then dipped a little, but they’ve definitely picked up the last couple of games and had some good results.
“It’s one that we have to be aware of and be ready for.”
Tennai Watson had a loan spell with Wimbledon in the 2018/19 season while Reds goalkeeper Owen Goodman helped them to promotion last season with 25 clean sheets.
The Dons – in their current form after former club Wimbledon became MK Dons – have only visited Barnsley once, a 0-0 draw in 2018 before the Reds won 4-1 away later in the season. They met last August and Wimbledon became the first side to beat the Reds this campaign with a 2-0 success in London.
