Following their opening-day win against Crawley Town, Hartlepool United travel to Barrow hoping to continue their winning start to the League Two campaign. The Bluebirds were narrowly defeated by Stevenage last week, and both sides will be hoping for three points on Saturday.
The Opposition
Barrow finished last term's League Two in 21st place, five points clear of the drop-zone. Since the end of last season, they've appointed Mark Cooper as their new manager, replacing Rob Kelly who was in caretaker charge following the dismissals of David Dunn and then Michael Jolley.
The Bluebirds are without a few key players, but still boast plenty of quality throughout their side. A familiar name in the squad is three-time Poolie Luke James. The Amble-born frontman joined Barrow after his contract at Victoria Park expired prior to the 2020-21 season.
The History
This will be the 93rd meeting between the sides, with the history being fairly even since their first meeting in 1922. Pools have won 37 meetings, Barrow have won 33, and 22 games have ended in a draw.
Most recently, the sides played out a 2-2 draw in December 2019. Goals from Gavan Holohan and Ryan Donaldson gave Pools a share of the points at Victoria Park.
Team News
Dave Challinor has a fully fit squad to choose from on Saturday, including recent loan signing Will Goodwin. The forward, on loan from Stoke City, is competing with Fela Olomola, Tyler Burey, Mark Cullen, and Luke Molyneux for a place in attack for Pools.
Joe Grey is a long-term absentee, while several first-team players will hope for a recall after being rotated during Tuesday's game against Crewe Alexandra.
Tune in
Pools fans can listen to full match commentary with Alex Chandy and Adam Boyd by following the link below. Make sure you purchase your matchday audio pass for £2.50. After purchase, follow the link sent to your emails and use the code to access full coverage.
https://poolsretail.com/products/mixlr-audio-match-pass-barrow
Information for Fans
The away allocation is now completely sold out. Thank you for all your support.