In-form Salford City will have their sights set on securing a fifth victory in six matches across all competitions when they welcome Barrow to the Peninsula Stadium.
While the away side have not enjoyed as smooth a run of results as their hosts of late, they did snap a four-game losing streak last time out and now go in search of consecutive wins.
Match preview
Having come out on top in each of their last four home outings prior, Salford finally got in on the act away from home as they claimed a 2-0 win over Accrington Stanley at The Wham Stadium for their first away triumph since October.
Off the back of a relatively uneventful first half, Haji Mnoga broke the deadlock in the early exchanges of the second half before Cole Stockton continued his hot streak in front of goal to seal the deal five minutes from time.
Securing four victories from five matches is impressive whichever way you look at it, but Karl Robinson's men have managed that while keeping clean sheets in each of their wins and have let in just one goal, which came in a 1-0 defeat to Gillingham earlier this month.
As a result of their recent resurgence, Salford have put their slow start to the season behind them and are increasingly closing in on the teams around them in the race for a playoff spot from which they are currently separated by one point despite sitting 11th in the League Two table.
A chance to win a fifth straight game in front of their fans now awaits the Ammies, who could potentially end the year picking up 15 points from a possible 15 with a clash against bottom-place Morecambe to follow Thursday's affair.
Winless in the league since beating Cheltenham Town 2-1 on October 5, Barrow secured a much-needed three points courtesy of Saturday's 2-0 routine triumph over Fleetwood Town at Holker Street.
Stephen Clemence's men took full advantage of a slow start from their opponents as they struck twice inside the opening 10 minutes of the contest through Emile Acquah and Theo Vassell to take control of proceedings.
Despite enduring a rough patch of late prior to their victory last time out, Barrow are now a whopping 11 points clear of the relegation zone and just five points shy of playoff contention, so a victory against Salford could reignite their promotion chase.
Only Crewe and AFC Wimbledon have conceded fewer goals this term than the Bluebirds, who have, however, often been let down by a lack of attacking firepower, with just 20 goals scored in as many matches.
Given their record against Thursday's opponents, the visitors could be set for disappointment on the road once again, having failed to win any and lost half of the most recent eight meetings dating back to 2020.
Team News
Cole Stockton is a man on fire right now with six goals scored in his last six matches, and the forward will be keen to deliver the goods for Salford in this one.
Twenty-year-old Kelly N'Mai will need to keep his discipline in check here after receiving his seventh caution of the season last time out in just 18 league appearances for the home side.
Off the back of spending six consecutive games on the sidelines, Barrow's Sam Foley was handed a one-minute cameo against Fleetwood on his return to action from a muscle injury.
Theo Vassell's strike in the aforementioned game was his fourth league goal of the campaign, which is a new personal best for the defender in his debut year with the visitors.
Sean Etaluku remains out of contention having not featured since mid-September, and the Englishman is largely expected to go on loan during the January transfer window.
Salford City possible starting lineup:
Young; Garbutt, Negru, Shephard; N'Mai, Fornah, Ashley, Mnoga; Woodburn, Stockton, McAleny
Barrow possible starting lineup:
Farman; Feely, Vassell, Stokes, Jackson; Spence, Campbell; Mahoney, Gotts, Newby; Acquah
We say: Salford City 2-1 Barrow
Salford are flying high at the moment and will certainly take some stopping, especially in front of their fans.
While we expect Barrow to be no pushovers, we are also backing the home side to get the job done, albeit by only a narrow margin.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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