Already confined to a 24th-placed finish in the League One table, Shrewsbury Town will head to Oakwell to take on Barnsley on Saturday.
The visitors sit bottom of the table on just 30 points with two games remaining, while their hosts have dropped to 12th spot following a poor second half to the season.
Match preview
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Barnsley head into their final two games of the League One season aiming to end the campaign on a relative high under the permanent stewardship of Conor Hourihane, having fallen out of the playoff race in 2025.
Then under the management of Darrell Clarke, the Reds sat in the top six on 42 points from 25 outings on the back of four straight wins around the turn of the year, but they have since added just 16 more points to that tally in 19 further attempts, winning just four of those games and losing 11.
Having initially taken over as interim manager in mid-March, Conor Hourihane struggled to inspire an upturn in form, failing to oversee a victory in his first five games at the helm at Oakwell, but he would be handed the permanent job following a 4-1 home triumph over Bolton Wanderers in mid-April.
The South Yorkshire outfit have again failed to build a run since, though, going on to suffer a 4-3 defeat away at playoff-chasing Leyton Orient despite leading 2-0 and 3-1 through a Stephen Humphrys brace and a Davis Keillor-Dunn goal, before they hosted Peterborough United on Easter Monday and took a point from a 1-1 draw thanks to Jon Russell's leveller.
Now finding themselves 12th with two games remaining, three points behind 11th spot and three above the bottom half having fallen short of what would have been a third straight top-six finish, Barnsley will at least aim to build confidence under their new boss with an improved end to the term starting with a home win on Saturday.
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Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Oakwell for their final away game of their 10-year stay in League One, having been condemned to relegation last week.
The 2024-25 term has been a particularly tough one for Shrewsbury Town, who are confined to the bottom of the third-tier table having earned just 30 points from their 44 outings thus far, winning just seven and losing 28 of those.
19 of those points came from a 15-match spell under the management of Gareth Ainsworth between late-November and mid-February, but his tenure would end with six defeats and a draw and Michael Appleton has been unable to reverse the Shrews' fortunes in his temporary spell.
Indeed, the Shropshire outfit have managed just two draws alongside five defeats under Appleton, with a 1-0 home loss to Wigan Athletic on Good Friday confirming their drop to League Two, before they visited Northampton on Monday and suffered a 4-1 beating, with John Marquis's 91st-minute goal being the only consolation.
Now unable to move off the foot of the division and facing a return to League Two for the first time since 2015, Shrewsbury Town will bid to bow out of England's third tier on a high, starting with just a third away league win of the season on Saturday.
Team News
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Barnsley are set to remain without goalkeeper Jackson Smith, defenders Neil Farrugia and Georgie Gent and striker Stephen Humphrys on Saturday due to ongoing injuries.
First-choice stopper Joe Gauci did return from a two-month injury hiatus to start against Peterborough United last time out, though, and he will continue between the sticks, while defender Josh Earl has also made a return to full fitness in recent weeks.
Attacker Fabio Jalo is a fresh concern after being forced off early in the second half of Monday's draw, meaning Max Watters may come into the front line from the outset if Humphrys's absence does continue.
Shrewsbury Town continue to contend with several injury issues of their own, with Leo Castledine, Jordan Shipley, Vadaine Oliver and Dominic Gape all set to remain sidelined.
John Marquis should continue to lead the line alongside George Lloyd, having netted a team-high tally of 10 goals this season including the late consolation last time out.
Morgan Feeney will hope to return to the defence, but Josh Feeney and Aaron Pierre may again get the nod at the heart of a back four, while Harrison Biggins should again join Taylor Perry and mainstay Alex Gilliead in the engine room.
Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Gauci; De Gevigney, Roberts, Earl; Lembikisa, Connell, Russell, Cotter; Phillips; Watters, Keillor-Dunn
Shrewsbury Town possible starting lineup:
Blackman; Hoole, J Feeney, Pierre, Benning; Perry, Gilliead, Biggins; Wheeler; Lloyd, Marquis
We say: Barnsley 2-0 Shrewsbury Town
While Barnsley are wounded and yet to get going under Conor Horihane, they should have the quality to record a confidence-boosting home win over already-relegated Shrewsbury at the weekend.
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Sam Varley
