After a four-game unbeaten run was ended with a 2-0 defeat to Portsmouth on Saturday, Exeter City will be looking for a response when they welcome Barnsley to St James' Park on Tuesday.

The visitors, meanwhile, will have the chance to claim consecutive victories following a 3-1 win over Accrington Stanley.

Match preview

Exeter went four games without defeat before they faced Portsmouth on Saturday, and although they were also looking to record a third consecutive away victory, two second-half goals condemned them to a 2-0 defeat.

The result saw the Grecians slip down from 10th to 12th position on goal difference, leaving them eight points adrift of the top six, having played a game more than Tuesday's opponents who sit in the final playoff place.

While a top-six finish may prove difficult, a win over Barnsley would certainly enhance their hopes of mounting a playoff push, however, that would require Exeter to end their four-game winless home run.

Converting home draws into victories has been their real problem of late, with their last three matches at St James' Park finishing all square.

Exeter will at least take confidence from the 2-0 away victory that they picked up against Barnsley in the reverse fixture in October.

Barnsley lost three straight competitive games by a combined 8-0 scoreline before they played host to Accrington Stanley at the weekend.

However, the Tykes wasted little time in bringing their mini goal-scoring drought to an end, finding the net on three occasions in the opening 20 minutes, thank to efforts from James Norwood, Jack Aitchison and Jordan Williams.

A 94th-minute consolation goal from Accrington's Tommy Leigh denied Barnsley the clean sheet, but that would have done little to dampen the mood, as Barnsley ended the weekend with a five-point cushion over the sides just outside the playoff places.

The Tykes will now look to record consecutive victories, and although they have only taken one point from their last two away league games, they have been a resolute force on their travels.

Only two teams in the third tier have conceded fewer away goals than the 10 that Barnsley have shipped, while a 2-0 defeat to Charlton Atheltic in their most recent away game was the only time that they have let in more than one goal in their last nine matches on the road.

Team News

Exeter recently recalled Josh Coley from a loan spell with Harrogate, but he is yet to feature since his return due to injury, and he is set to miss Tuesday's game alongside Kyle Taylor, who is also sidelined.

After dropping out of the side, Aaron Collins came off the bench at half time against Portsmouth, and he is expected to return to the starting XI in midweek.

Newcastle United loanee Joe White is set to retain his place in the lineup after being given his first start for the club on Saturday.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the services of Robbie Cundy and Josh Benson due to knee and hamstring injuries respectively.

Luke Thomas and Slobodan Tedic also remained sidelined, with the pair expected to return to training at the end of the month or early February.

After recently joining on loan from Burnley, Bobby Thomas made his Barnsley debut on Saturday, and he is expected to feature in midweek, with Duff set to name an unchanged lineup.

Exeter City possible starting lineup:
Blackman; Sweeney, Diabate, Hartridge; Caprice, Collins, Kite, Key; White; Brown, Nombe

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Collins; B. Thomas, Andersen, Kitching; Williams, Connell, Kane, Phillips, Cadden; Norwood, Aitchison

We say: Exeter City 1-2 Barnsley

Barnsley will be in a confident mood after beating Accrington on Saturday, and we think that they will have the extra quality needed to claim a second straight victory in midweek as they continue their push to secure a playoff place.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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