Barnsley and Port Vale will kick off their League One campaign on Saturday, as they square off at Oakwell on the opening day.

The hosts narrowly missed out on promotion in the playoff final last term and are now under the new management of Neill Collins, following Michael Duff's summer departure.

Match preview

Barnsley head into the new League One season hoping to go one better than last time around, after falling at the final hurdle in their bid to win promotion back to England's second tier.

In their first season following relegation from the Championship and under the new management of Michael Duff, the Reds managed a fourth-placed finish as they earned 86 points from their 46 games, booking a playoff semi-final tie with Bolton Wanderers as a result.

They would prevail in that two-legged tie, earning a creditable 1-1 draw away from home before booking a trip to Wembley for the final against Sheffield Wednesday with a 1-0 triumph at Oakwell as Liam Kitching hit the only goal of the game, but they would fall just short in agonising fashion against their Yorkshire rivals in the capital, as the game remained goalless through 90 minutes and extra time, only for Josh Windass to net a winner for the Owls in the 123rd minute, denying the Reds an instant return to the Championship.

Following that disappointment, Barnsley then saw Duff depart over the summer to join Swansea City, and they made the decision to task Neill Collins with leading the side into the new term, and after their pre-season kicked off with a victory over Worksop Town, Collins would begin his tenure in friendly defeats to Hull City and Blackburn Rovers, before capping off their preparations for the campaign with a 2-1 victory over Crewe Alexandra at Oakwell last Saturday, as James Norwood and Kacper Lopata got on the scoresheet.

With pre-season now complete and their sights set on sealing promotion at the second time of asking, Collins's men will be desperate to kick off the campaign with a victory in front of their home crowd on Saturday.

They meet a visiting Port Vale team who will also hope to kick off the term in positive fashion, after their 18th-placed finish last time around.

The Valiants returned to England's third tier in that term, following a promotion from League Two in the previous year, and after a tough run after the turn of the year, they eventually finished 18th having earned 49 points from their 46 games, playing the final four games under the management of Andy Crosby following the departure of promotion-winning boss Darrell Clarke.

After Crosby's appointment was made permanent following the end of the campaign, Port Vale began pre-season with a trip to Kidsgrove Athletic in mid-July and came away with a 2-0 victory, while also playing out a goalless draw with local outfit Newcastle Town on the same day.

They then stepped up the preparations with a trip to Doncaster Rovers last weekend, eventually falling to a 1-0 defeat following George Broadbent's second-half goal in their final friendly.

Now turning their focus fully to competitive action, Port Vale will be keen to quickly get off the mark in League One on Saturday, albeit in what will be a tough test in South Yorkshire.

Team News

Barnsley have certainly seen some change to their squad over the summer, with goalkeeper Bradley Collins having left for Coventry City and fellow stopper Harry Isted seeing his loan spell from Luton Town come to an end, while key centre-back Mads Andersen has also departed alongside Luke Thomas, Clarke Oduor and James Norwood, who led the line for large parts of last season.

Collins has been able to bolster his squad too, though, and Middlesbrough loanee Liam Roberts should come in between the sticks this term, while fellow new arrivals Corey O'Keefe and Kacper Lopata will hope to start at the back.

With Norwood having departed, Max Watters should join Devante Cole up front, after his loan spell from Cardiff City was made permanent over the summer, with Callum Styles also likely to play a key role after spending last season on loan with Millwall, likely coming into the midfield alongside Herbie Kane and key man Luca Connell.

While Port Vale have seen James Wilson, Mal Benning, David Worrall and Jamie Proctor depart over the summer, they have certainly strengthened with goalkeepers Jayson Leutwiler and Connor Ripley having arrived alongside defenders Alex Iacovitti, Kofi Balmer, Mitchell Clark and Tom Sang, midfielders Conor Grant, Jason Lowe, Ethan Chislett and Oliver Arblaster and forward Josh Thomas.

Iacovitti will likely join new club captain Nathan Smith in defence, while Grant and Lowe will hope to start in the engine room, with Arblaster also keen to impress after joining on loan from Sheffield United.

Following Wilson's exit, Ellis Harrison should be relied upon to lead the line, with Swansea loanee Thomas also hoping to play an important role up top.

Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Roberts; O'Keefe, Kitching, Cundy; Williams, Kane, Connell, Styles, Cadden; Cole, Watters

Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Sang, Smith, Iacovitti; Clark, Lowe, Grant, Jones; Arblaster; Harrison, Thomas

We say: Barnsley 2-1 Port Vale

We are yet to see how Barnsley will fare after last season's Wembley disappointment and the loss of their manager and several key players over the summer, but they should still have enough to get past Port Vale on home turf in their curtain-raiser at the weekend.


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