Walsall v Barnsley: The last five meetings

Whilst Barnsley are flying high in second position edging towards a return to the Championship, Walsall are threatening to drop down to the fourth tier, currently finding themselves in the League One relegation zone.

The sides haven't always been so far apart in League position however.

Richard Fletcher looks back at the five previous meetings between these two sides.

Barnsley 1 Walsall 1 - 8 September 2018

Barnsley extended their unbeaten run to seven games but were held to a draw at Oakwell by Walsall. In a first half of few chances, Walsall had the best chance to go ahead in the 14th minute.

Nicky Devlin's cross found Morgan Ferrier but his header was saved superbly by Jack Walton.

Shortly into the second period a short corner found Alex Mowatt in the box and he crossed to half-time substitute Adeboyejo, who bundled the ball home from four yards.

Walsall then equalised against the run of play in the 88th minute through second-half substitute Cook. George Dobson found Cook in the box and he fired home from seven yards.

Walsall 1 Barnsley 3 - 19 May 2016

Walsall missed out on the chance of promotion as Barnsley booked their place at Wembley in the League One play-off final with an ultimately comfortable play-off second-leg win at Walsall.

Adam Hammill's early close-range strike for the visitors was followed by Ashley Fletcher's second-half effort.

Walsall's Jordan Cook curled in a late right-foot reply from outside the box but Josh Brownhill pounced on an error to complete a 6-1 aggregate victory.

The Tykes advanced to play Millwall in the final, and then seal promotion back to the Championship with a 2-0 win.

Barnsley 3 Walsall 0 - 14 May 2016

Sam Winnall scored two and made a third as Barnsley took hold of this 2016 League One play-off semi-final with Walsall.

Jason Demetriou deflected Adam Hammill's shot past his own goalkeeper after Winnall's pass as Barnsley took the lead on the stroke of half-time.

Winnall got the second from the edge of the box before ending a 50-yard run with a classy finish two minutes later.

No side had ever overturned a three-goal first-leg deficit to make a final in the history of the play-offs, and this run continued as Walsall were unable to turn around the deficit in the second leg.

Walsall 1 Barnsley 3 - 5 March 2016

The Saddlers League One promotion hopes took a significant blow in this spring encounter as Barnsley left them without a win in six games.

After Anthony Forde's free-kick had hit the post, the visitors went up the other end to seize a 17th-minute lead through Ashley Fletcher's low effort.

Walsall top scorer Tom Bradshaw poked in to level by half-time for the hosts.

But Barnsley then scored twice in six minutes, Josh Brownhill's dipping drive beating Neil Etheridge before Harry Chapman sealed it with a low drive.

The defeat left the Saddlers in fourth position, five points off the automatic promotion places.

Barnsley 0 Walsall 2 - 20 October 2015

Walsall's fantastic early season form continued in 2015/16 as they comfortably beat Barnsley at Oakwell.

George Evans scored on his Walsall debut to consign Barnsley to their fourth consecutive league defeat.

Sam Winnall came close for Barnsley in a quiet first half, but his close-range shot was scuffed wide.

Evans, who joined on loan from Manchester City hours earlier, fired a low strike across Nick Townsend in the second half to put Walsall ahead.

Former Barnsley man Milan Lalkovic scored from 15 yards to ensure the win which kept Walsall second in the table.

The Saddlers were now seven away league matches and remained two points behind league leaders Gillingham, while Barnsley slipped to 19th in the table.