Bleak Barnsley team news update emerges ahead of Nottingham Forest showdown | OneFootball

Barnsley assistant coach Ferran Sibila has confirmed that less than 13 senior players participated in training today ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Nottingham Forest.

Liam Kitching is set to miss this particular fixture whilst Callum Styles is facing a race to be fit after picking up an injury in Saturday’s meeting with Birmingham City.

The Tykes would have been hoping to close the gap between them and safety by securing a positive result against the Blues.

However, goals from Scott Hogan and Onel Hernandez allowed Birmingham to seal all three points in this particular fixture.

Currently bottom of the Championship standings, Barnsley will need to step up their performance levels in this division if they are to have any chance of avoiding relegation later this year.

Set to face a Forest side who have won five of their last seven league games, the Tykes could potentially be in for a tough evening at the City Ground on Tuesday.

Ahead of this fixture, Sibila has revealed that Barnsley tried to postpone this fixture due to the fact that they are unable to call upon a host of senior players but this appeal was rejected.

Speaking in the club’s pre-match press conference for their meeting with Forest (as cited by Barnsley’s official website), Sibila said: “We had less than 13 first team players in training today, we asked to postpone the game, but we’ve not been allowed.

“We have lots of young players involved therefore, so it’s an opportunity for these guys to take their chance I suppose.

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“Liam Kitching is out, Callum Styles also from the last game.

“And other guys couldn’t train because of knocks in the last game.

“So we must wait until tomorrow and see if they recover.

“It’s not ideal at all for us, but this is the situation we are in right now.”

The Verdict

This is a bleak update for Barnsley as their chances of securing a positive result in this clash without a host of their players is very slim.

Nevertheless, the individuals who will be involved at the City Ground will still be desperate to produce an encouraging performance for the Tykes.

With head coach Poya Asbaghi currently suffering with illness, Sibila may be required to oversee proceedings on Tuesday.

When you consider that Kitching has started in each of the club’s previous six league games, it will be intriguing to see whether Barnsley will be able to deliver the goods in the absence of the defender.

Meanwhile, it could be argued that the Tykes simply have to resist the temptation to start Callum Styles tomorrow unless he is fully fit as he may suffer another injury setback if he does feature against Forest.