Vale will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s loss to Shrewsbury Town as they face Barnsley for the third time this season on Tuesday night at Vale Park.
The Reds have been in fine form recently, winning three of their last four league games which leaves them in 6th place, just inside the League One play-off spots.
The latest of those wins came on Saturday as the ten men Tykes swept a side Cambridge United with a 2-0 victory at Oakwell.
Darrell Clarke’s side have struggled in recent weeks, but we still sit in a respectable 15th place in the division.
The Valiants did produce a battling display away at Shrewsbury Town last weekend but unfortunately fell on the wrong side of a 3-2 score line.
In today’s read, we take a look at Tuesday’s visitors, and what we can expect from them when they come to Vale Park.
ONE TO WATCH: Mads Anderson
The Reds captain is the one to keep an eye out for on Tuesday night, with the Danish centre-back now in his fourth season in South Yorkshire.
The 25-year-old's career started in his home country of Denmark, where he spent most of his early career at Brøndby.
After graduating from the Danish giant’s academy, he struggled to get into the first team, so moved to AC Horsens in 2017.
After two years playing in the Danish Superliga with Horsens, Anderson moved to the North of England where he signed for Barnsley.
After a mixed first season for the Reds, the six-foot-five defender kicked on in 2020/21, becoming an integral part of the Barnsley side that reached the Championship play-offs.
The following season was a tough one for both Anderson and the football club as they got relegated down to Sky Bet League One, but on a positive note for the defender, he did take over captaincy last campaign.
With the Danish centre back at the heart of the Barnsley defence, they will be tough to break down, but our attacking line will be looking to slice through them.
THE MAN AT THE HELM: Michael Duff
The man in the dugout for the Reds is Michael Duff, who moved from fellow League One side Cheltenham Town to South Yorkshire last summer.
Before his career in coaching, Duff made over 600 appearances in senior football as a centre-back, spending eight years at Cheltenham Town, and 12 years at Burnley.
Duff was a major part of three promotions to the Premier League in his playing days at Burnley, becoming the first player after Neil Clement to do so with the same club.
After his third and final promotion with the Clarets, Duff hung up his boots to pursue a career in coaching and was appointed Cheltenham manager in 2018.
The 44-year-old was at the helm of the Robins when they achieved promotion to Sky Bet League One in 2021, which was their first-ever automatic promotion as they won the league.
Last Campaign the Northern Irishman led his former side to their highest-ever league finish, as the Robins placed 15th in the third tier.
His impressive achievements in Gloucestershire caught the eye of the Reds, and on 15th June 2022, Duff made the switch to join Barnsley.
Duff has had a strong first Campaign in south Yorkshire so far, with his side fighting near the top of the table, looking to jump straight back into the Championship in May.
HEAD-TO-HEAD LAST FIVE:
Vale wins: 2
Draws: 1
Barnsley wins: 2
Every time these two sides clash it’s a tight affair, with four of the last five matches being separated by just a one-goal margin.
There have been two meetings between the two sides this campaign, with the league fixture at Oakwell ending in a 1-1 draw, whilst Vale came out on top in the Papa John’s Trophy clash back in November.