MANSFIELD TOWN, home, tonight
For the third season in a row, a new Barnsley head coach takes charge of his first home game against one of his former clubs.
Darrell Clarke’s connection to hometown club Mansfield, where he started his playing career, is stronger than Neill Collins’ to his former loan club Port Vale who were hammered 7-0 a year ago, but less recent than for Michael Duff taking on Cheltenham weeks after leaving them in 2022.
The Reds have won the opening home game of each of the last six seasons without conceding a goal.
They thrashed Vale after beating Cheltenham, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest and Fulham 1-0 in the previous four seasons and defeated Oxford 4-0 in 2018.
The Reds are clearly short of a few players, with work to do in the transfer market, but will be favourites to beat the newly-promoted Stags who have a wily boss in Nigel Clough and an experienced squad.
WIGAN ATHLETIC, away, Tuesday
The Reds have won just eight EFL Cup ties in the last 14 seasons. It is a less lucrative and prestigious competition than the FA Cup, while the league is far more important, plus the first few rounds are in midweek early in the season with wholesale changes often made to the first choice line-up. That is likely to be similar on Tuesday although there is little room to rotate players in certain areas like up front. But, if Barnsley win, an early-season cup run could generate momentum and provide a big game against a top side. Barnsley are unbeaten in their last four meetings with the Latics. Wigan, who appear to have put their financial woes behind them, are tipped by many to compete for the top six this season.
LINCOLN CITY, away, August 17.
It is easy to forget how successful Barnsley were away from home last season. Their 12 wins on the road was a club record, while they equalled another record with 41 points. That is despite losing the final four league games on their travels.
They went on a club record 11-game unbeaten run away from home in the league, which started with a 2-2 draw at Lincoln in November.
Some Reds fans first called for Neill Collins to be sacked at Sincil Bank last season but there is likely to be warm support for his successor as this game starts.
This will be a tough first away league game as they have a very poor record against the Imps who, despite losing some key players, are hoping to build on their remarkable second half of last season which almost saw them overtake Barnsley in sixth on the final day.
NORTHAMPTON TOWN, home, August 24
The Cobblers were the last Saturday visitors to Oakwell and they will be the next as well.
The Reds will hope to perform better than in that nervy finale of last league season in which they conceded a 96th-minute leveller but stayed in the play-offs because teams below them could also not win.
Northampton have lost several key players since that game, in which they completed a solid mid-table finish after promotion. They have brought in Cameron McGeehan who was at Barnsley between 2017 and 2020 before playing for their then sister club Oostende in Belgium and spending last season with Colchester in League Two. Barnsley could then play in the EFL Cup second round if they have won at Wigan.
CRAWLEY TOWN, away, August 31
Darrell Clarke has an excellent personal record against Crawley as a manager, winning eight of his 11 meetings including the last six in the league with Bristol Rovers, Walsall and Port Vale.
He will get an early chance to add to that tally after presumably being involved in deadline day phonecalls from a team hotel in Sussex the previous night.
The Reds will look for a first win over Crawley in three attempts after being humbled 1-0 at Oakwell a decade ago this week then thrashed 5-1 at the Broadfield Stadium.
