Barnsley will look to beat Wigan Athletic at Oakwell for the first time ever in a league fixture when they meet from 8pm on Tuesday night.
The Reds are 12th in League One, seven points off the final play-off place, having lost a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw at Mansfield on Saturday. They have lost just one of their eight matches at Oakwell in 2026.
The Latics are 21st, one place and three points clear of the relegation zone.
They sacked manager Ryan Lowe last month after they went into the drop zone and lost 6-1 at Peterborough. They brought back their former manager Gary Caldwell from Exeter and he won 1-0 at home to top half sides Luton and Huddersfield either side of a 4-2 loss at Stockport. They then drew 1-1 at Blackpool last week before losing 3-0 at home to Plymouth. Wigan won 2-0 at home to high-flying Bradford City on Saturday.
No side in the division has fewer away wins than Wigan with two from 18 games.
Barnsley head coach Conor Hourihane said: “We fancy ourselves against anyone at home.
“It’s a different team completely to Mansfield. Wigan have a fighting chance of staying up and had a very good result on Saturday. They will be in a good place.
“We go into two home games back to back in a decent place and we can go into the game with momentum.”
Defender Eoghan O’Connell said the Reds would have no problems moving on from conceding a last-minute leveller at Mansfield and focusing on the Wigan game.
He said: “We are going to have these moments and, since I have been here, it’s basically been Saturday, Tuesday. You don’t really have time to come up for air, it’s onto the next game straight away. We have two games at home coming up and Wigan is first so we have to focus on them.”
The Latics have Caylan Vickers, who spent the first half of the season on loan to Barnsley before being sent back to parent club Brighton. He started for the first time on Saturday and scored.
The clubs have met 22 times, 15 of which have been since 2013. Barnsley have won six and lost seven.
The visit to Wigan on New Year’s Day saw them come from behind to draw 1-1 thanks to an Adam Phillips strike, then Luca Connell was sent off late on.
Wigan have a strong record at Oakwell. Since losing their first visit in 1954 in an FA Cup tie as a non-league club, they are unbeaten in nine.
Their eight league games at Barnsley have seen them win four and draw four while conceding two goals. The Latics won 1-0 last season thanks to a Thelo Aasgaard strike.
Caldwell also has a good record at Oakwell, winning all three matches there – once with Wigan in 2015 then twice with Exeter in the last two seasons.
