Barnsley, Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town, Bradford City and Harrogate Town head into action

Barnsley v Brentford - Championship

Expectation, buoyancy; a liberal sprinkling of hope and hype.

It is something that the more weathered Barnsley supporters - who have seen too many false dawns over the years than they would care to mention - are traditionally uncomfortable with.

Without going over the top, Barnsley, as it stands - yes, things can change and often do at Oakwell and across the Championship but let’s carry on - are in a good place.

Nine points and 11 places better off than at this stage of the season in 2019-20, in fact.

Saturday’s test against Nottingham Forest - who came into the game on the back of a run of one defeat in seven matches - was a good one.

Tonight’s appointment against one of the most dynamic football sides in the division in Brentford is also intriguing and will be a further barometer of the Reds’ progress.

Barnsley are striking a nice balance between intensity in their offensive play and durability and resolution in their defending under Valerien Ismael. The question is can they keep it up? Then, they might just be onto something.

QPR v Rotherham - Championship

Mention QPR to Millers supporters and memories of ‘that’ early Spring night in 2019 comes readily to mind.

Two goals from Semi Ajayi – including a winner deep in stoppage time – gave the club their first victory in this part of West London for over 67 years and ended an epic 1,069-day wait for an away triumph in the second-tier stretching back 44 games to April, 2016.

This evening, the Millers are looking for another spark there after a largely toothless away show at Swansea.

Rotherham provided hope on their travels with early-season performances at Wycombe, Birmingham and Nottingham Forest in three unbeaten matches.

Unfortunately, they have lost their last three games on the road without scoring a goal.

Rotherham are well organised and combative. They are also the joint second-lowest away goal-scorers in the Championship.

Time to be a bit braver and proactive going forward as Paul Warne rightly says.

Wycombe v Huddersfield Town - Championship

A work in progress is a fair description of Huddersfield at the minute as they continue to acclimatise to the methodology of Carlos Corberan. It was always going to be the way.

The intensity and aggressive pressing shown in many of his side’s performances has been striking. More players are also getting into the box in attacking play, too.

The concession of some soft goals and blowing some good positions has also been a more annoying feature of this season.

It is a learning curve for Town, but they need to tighten it up and eliminate the sloppiness. They have conceded 17 Championship goals in 2020-21. Only Coventry and today’s opponents Wycombe have let in more.

A few goals then at Adams Park tonight. Town and Corberan would settle for a disciplined 1-0 win.

Leyton Orient v Bradford City - League Two

City and Stuart McCall are entitled to think the world is against them a bit.

A raft of injuries, selection issues, inconsistent form - check. Torrid result at the weekend - check. Long midweek coach journey south - check.

As McCall correctly acknowledges, now is not the time to start bleating. City must simply crack on.

They face an Orient side who eased past Harrogate 3-0 on Saturday and who hammered Bolton 4-0 recently.

A bad result and performance after Saturday’s events in Salford has the potential to turn a drama into a potential crisis for the Bantams.

It is the time when players, quite simply, must stand up and be counted. Wearing the claret and amber is a privilege and not a burden.

Teams will always want to turn over Bradford in League Two - such is the size of the club - so it is about dealing with it.

Digging out a result amid adversity enables teams to grow. How City need one or two of those.

Mansfield Town v Harrogate Town - League Two

2020 will always be a memorable one for Harrogate Town.

Inevitably, the party lights were going to dim at some point.

Harrogate are in the midst of the sort of run that they were always going to experience in their League Two education.

They make their first trip to Field Mill, with the rejuvenated Stags now led by a canny operator in Nigel Clough, on the back of a six-match winless streak in the league, which has seen them score just three times.

Other than Jack Muldoon, a Harrogate striker has struck just once in the league since September 19.

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