Take a look at everything you need to know ahead of this evening's League Two encounter with Forest Green Rovers at The New Lawn.
Forest Green Rovers v Barrow
Tuesday 27th April 2021, 7pm
The New Lawn
Sky Bet League Two
In Opposition
Forest Green Rovers will hope to take a giant stride towards securing a play-off place by tasting victory over Barrow at The New Lawn this evening.
The Gloucestershire outfit were third and looked well-placed for automatic promotion following a 2-1 win over Harrogate Town in mid-March but a dramatic drop-off in form has seen them fall off the pace.
A sequence of four straight defeats saw them make the decision to part company with boss Mark Cooper earlier this month and Jimmy Ball has taken the reins for the run-in.
Victory over Scunthorpe United and then consecutive goalless draws with Exeter City and Crawley Town has left Rovers sixth in the table, still with work to do to clinch a top-seven finish.
One To Watch
Aaron Collins has had to shoulder more responsibility in the Forest Green Rovers’ attack since top scorer Jamille Matt picked up a hand injury in the game at Bolton at the end of last month.
A former Newport County youngster, Collins arrived at The New Lawn in the summer of 2019 following a spell with Barrow’s rivals, Morecambe.
The 23-year-old has featured in all but two of Rovers’ League Two games and scored seven times so he will hope to hit top form as they seek to challenge for promotion in the coming weeks.
Head To Head
Saturday’s game will be the 18th competitive meeting between the two clubs and Forest Green Rovers have a slight edge having won five times in comparison to Barrow’s four triumphs.
Unusually, almost half of previous meetings (8) have ended in draws, including three of the last four encounters – most recently when the sides shared a 2-2 draw at The Progression Solicitors Stadium in November.
The Bluebirds’ last win over Rovers came back in March 2011 when goals from Mike Pearson, Richie Barker and Wayne Curtis secured a thrilling 3-2 win at The New Lawn.
Referee
Paul Howard will take charge of his first Barrow game of the season when he’s on the whistle for our encounter with Forest Green Rovers this evening.
The official was promoted to the Football League’s list of referees at the start of the current campaign and has overseen 28 games across the competitions in 2020/21.
Howard last refereed a Bluebirds fixture during the 2018/19 when he saw us lose 1-0 at Maidstone United and 2-1 at Bromley.
Betting
Forest Green Rovers have been made even money favourites for three points tonight, while Barrow are rated an 11/4 shot for victory and you can back the draw at odds of 9/4.
Click here now to take a look at Sky Bet’s range of odds on this evening’s action.
Live Streaming
Match Passes to watch tonight’s game live on iFollow Barrow are now available – fans are reminded that Season Ticket holders do not get free access to away games.
Fans in the UK can buy a Match Pass now to watch tonight’s action at Forest Green priced at £10, while overseas supporters pay £7.
Click here now to buy your Match Pass for tonight’s game.
Live Commentary
We will also provide an audio commentary of the game with BBC Radio Cumbria duo Adam Johnson and Mark Boyd as they describe all the action as it unfolds at The New Lawn.
You can purchase an Audio Match Pass for £2.50, an Audio Monthly Pass for £4.49 or sign-up for Audio Season Pass which provides all live commentary and video news for just £45.