Barnsley face Wigan Athletic on Saturday afternoon in what is effectively a must-win game if they are to avoid relegation from the Championship.

The Tykes are four points from safety with four games to play, while Wigan are eight points clear of the drop but face a possible 12-point deduction for entering administration.

Match preview

On the back of a 4-0 home thrashing at the hands of Stoke City, the last thing Barnsley needed was to lose Wednesday's relegation six-pointer with Luton Town.

That looked as though it was going to be the case when Luke Berry scored his first goal of the season for Luton inside the opening 13 minutes.

Barnsley fought back in the battle between the bottom two, however, and salvaged a crucial point through substitute Aapo Halme's poked finish six minutes from time at Kenilworth Road.

The draw will be seen as a big opportunity missed, though with Charlton Athletic losing to Brentford on Tuesday it means that the gap on safety is still four points.

Gerhard Struber's side have an extremely tough end to the season, though, as they face Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Brentford in their final three matches.

This visit of Wigan is surely in the 'must-win' category for Barnsley, then, with the Latics in relegation bother of their own.

On the field, Athletic have been in fine form since the restart, winning four of their five matches to move up to 15th place.

An eight-point buffer on the dropzone would usually mean Wigan could afford to switch off at this point, but that is not the case due to off-the-field matters.

The club were placed into administration last week and are now in a position whereby they will likely have to finish 12 points clear of the drop to avoid relegation.

Boss Steve Cook dedicated Wednesday's 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers to the staff who have been made redundant at the club and vowed to keep fighting to keep the Latics afloat.

For that to happen three more points will be required at Oakwell this weekend, a ground that they are unbeaten at in their last five league visits.

Indeed, Athletic have lost just one of the last 11 league matches overall between the sides and will see this as a big opportunity to boost their survival hopes.

Barnsley's Championship form: LWDWLD

Wigan Athletic's Championship form: DWWWLW

Team News

Halme scored two minutes after replacing Conor Chaplin against Luton and may have earned himself a starting spot for Saturday's huge clash.

Mike-Steven Bahre was brought into the starting lineup in midweek in the only change, but Luke Thomas is pushing for a recall, as is young midfielder Romal Palmer.

Wigan remain without Joe Garner after the striker was hit with a three-game ban for his sending off against Brentford, while Cheyenne Dunkley, Gary Roberts and Michael Jacobs are fitness doubts.

Leon Balogun missed out against QPR through injury and was replaced by Danny Fox - the only change from the Brentford loss - and Cook is likely to keep changes to a minimum once again.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Walton; Sollbauer, Andersen, Williams; Ludewig, Mowatt, Thomas, Ritzmaier; Woodrow; Brown, Halme

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Byrne, Kipre, Fox, Robinson; Williams, Morsy; Naismith, Dowell, Lowe; Moore

We say: Barnsley 1-2 Wigan Athletic

Wigan were beaten heavily by Brentford in their most recent away outing but have not lost back-to-back on their travels since October. Cook's men have been in good form overall since the restart and we are backing them to all but condemn Barnsley to the drop this weekend.