The trip to Wigan Athletic tomorrow is the biggest hurdle for Barnsley to clear on their way to Wembley in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, head coach Lee Johnson has suggested.

Victory at Wigan would take Barnsley – already further advanced in this competition than ever before – through to the 'Northern area final' in which they would face League Two Morecambe or fellow League One strugglers Fleetwood over two legs in January.The winner of that will play in the Wembley final on April 3 against the champions of the Southern section in which the remaining sides are League Two outfits Oxford United and Yeovil Town as well as League One clubs Southend United and Millwall.

Johnson said: "We want to give the fans a big day out at Wembley and, if we win this game, there's a real possibility of that. No disrespect to the other clubs but, when you have a chance to play clubs over 180 minutes in the semi-final, the better side generally will win.

"It's basically a quarter-final so it's a big game. Everybody wants something to get their teeth into and be happy about with the league campaign being disappointing so far. It's exciting. It keeps the season alive.

"Wigan are a strong team in every area and they have the biggest budget in the division by a long way. But they have had some poor results this season and we have to make sure we catch them out. We will be the underdogs. We need to show the underdog spirit but we know we have the quality to win the game. We will have chances so we need to keep firm at the back."

Wigan, the 2013 FA Cup champions, slipped from the Premier League to League One in three seasons but are one of the favourites for promotion. They are currently fifth, seven points off top and 16 clear of the last-placed Reds.

While Barnsley have not had a clean sheet in 14 games, Wigan have kept four in their last five matches with the only goal conceded being in a 1-0 home defeat to leaders Burton Albion in their last home game. That was their only home loss of the League One season and their first home or away for 11 league matches. The Latics have let in just four goals in their ten home league games so far which is the best record in the division.

Former Barnsley man David Perkins has been a constant in the Wigan midfield this season. The 33-year-old – who played 100 games for the Reds before leaving in January last year – is joined at the DW Stadium by his old Oakwell team-mate Craig Davies, who has not scored in his last ten games. Striker Davies, 29, netted 19 goals in 60 Championship games for Barnsley before being bought by Bolton Wanderers who he left earlier this year.

As well as the suspended Kevin Long, Barnsley are likely to be without loan striker Michael Smith who has not been allowed to play in cup games by parent club Swindon although he has been left out of recent Reds squads anyway.

The match is being played tomorrow as the weekend was kept free for the second round of the FA Cup, which both clubs are out of. The other JPT quarter-finals are due to take place on Tuesday.