By Harry Jones
December 8 2025

Barnsley will be hoping to close the gap on the top six when they visit Lincoln on Tuesday night at 7:45pm.

The Reds are coming off the back of a win away at Peterborough in the FA Cup in which they also managed to keep a clean shhet.

 

Barnsley FC Stats on X posted a stat which said the Reds have kept more clean sheets at the Weston Homes Stadium than have at Oakwell during 2025/26.

 

Conor Hourihane said that Josh Earl is 'pretty much nailed on' to be involved against Lincoln after recovering from a back issue and Marc Roberts is '50/50' after sustaining an injury against Port Vale last Tuesday.

 

Nathanael Ogbeta is also expected to miss both games this week after picking up an injury.

 

Georgie Gent and Fabio Jalo also featured in the 1-0 win away at Peterborough on Saturday.

 

Hourihane said:"Georgie is a bit further ahead. He now is in a place where we can consider him for squads if needed.

 

There is a reserve game tomorrow for Fabio. He will get minutes in that then, after taht one, Fabio will come into contention for first team squads."

 

As for Lincoln, they have had an impressive start to the season which sees them occupy 4th place in League One.

 

They have had the lowest amount of possesion out of any team in League One this season with 42.7% and they have kept 7 clean sheets.

 

The Imps haven't played for a week since a 2-0 away defeat at Huddersfield in the EFL Trophy.

 

They are managed by Head Coach Michael Skubala who has been in charge since November 2023.

 

The two sides met last month in the EFL Trophy at Oakwell, with Lincoln winning 2-0.

 

The Tykes did the double over the Imps last season including a high-scoring 4-3 at Oakwell.

 

The two sides have met 78 times in competitive fixtures, with Barnsley winning 35 and losing 27.

 

It feels like an important week for Barnsley(as is every week pretty much) as two postitive results could put them in a really promising position as we approach the Christmas period.