Midweek mix - Four things to mull over for Tuesday night's football

One thing is sure, three hard-earned points would mean the world to messrs Evans, Adkins, Ferguson, Parkinson and Johnson this evening.

These can be the nights you remember when you analyse the merits of a season when it is all done and dusted.

Here are four observations ahead of a big night of action, which includes a League One derby between Bradford and Barnsley at Valley Parade.

1: Brentford v Leeds United: The ex-factor has spiced up Leeds’s date at Griffin Park. But it is the return to the starting XI of Chris Wood and not Toumani Diagouraga’s debut which is just as important.

It is one of the delicious quirks of footballing fate that midfielder ‘Toums’ could this evening make his debut for his new club against the one who has just sold him.

If the big Parisian steps out against the Bees, it will add a nice little sub-plot on a raw Tuesday night in January.

But Leeds fans who will pack out the away end in West London will be just as keen to see frontline striker Chris Wood lead the line from the off, a welcome, reassuring sight.

The Kiwi made his first appearance of 2016 from the bench on Saturday and it is fair to say he has been missed in his absence. Tonight is likely to be a night for men and Leeds need Wood out there.

They also owe Brentford one, having failed to beat them since their return to the second-tier.

2: Bradford City v Barnsley: City have dug deep and shown character previously, while January is not wearisome for the Tykes

Bradford aren’t exactly at their free-flowing best at the minute, but at this stage of the season few sides are. It’s the time for organisation, stout hearts, manning up and pulling together with your team-mates, something that Phil Parkinson is big on.

It might not be pretty at the moment, with goals hardly in plentiful supply, but it is the time of year when you just need to find a way, something Bradford have done on plenty of occasions under Parkinson.

After a generally poor time in the first half of the season, Barnsley are being afforded a spot of karma at the start of 2016, with their seasonal fortunes having turned around in eye-catching fashion.

Victory at Valley Parade could see the side potentially move up to 13th.

Having negotiated the storm, the Reds and Lee Johnson are now seeking to ride the wave and fill their boots. They are in a good place all of a sudden, but the last thing they should be doing is getting complacent.

3: Blackpool v Sheffield United: The Blades may have to defy the elements on the Fylde coast - but it’s perhaps better suited conditions than Bramall Lane.

Booed off by sections of fans after their 1-1 weekend home draw with Swindon, the Blades were in the equivalent of the doghouse with many agitated Unitedites on Saturday tea-time - not for the first time this term, it has to be said.

A trip to a wind-ravaged and wet Bloomfield Road tonight may not be illuminating to many supporters, but for Adkins and the Blades, perhaps a tough fixture on the road offers another chance to regroup and close ranks.

Given recent away games, it seems right up their street. Searching questions were asked of the Blades’ character on recent away days at Wigan and Colchester and Adkins’s side passed the test.

Now they need to survive another examination again tonight at Blackpool. Don’t count against them.

4: Doncaster Rovers v Port Vale: Rovers’ margin for error on home soil small if they want to maintain their outside hopes of gate-crashing the play-offs come the spring.

Rovers are one of a clutch of League One sides who are battling to keep their seasonal fortunes alive with one eye on the fourth and final play-off position. Boss Darren Ferguson, non-plussed with the weekend display against Fleetwood, admits that Rovers can’t afford many more slip-ups at home if they are to remain in the race. Too true.

After the tame weekend offering, tonight represents a timely fixture for Rovers, who with victory have a chance to leapfrog Vale - who like them still have a faint sniff of the top-six in their nostrils - and squaring the ledger after an awful 3-0 loss in the Potteries earlier in the season.

A win would set Rovers up nicely for a run of games that incorporates several derbies against Scunthorpe, Sheffield United and Barnsley, plus big tests versus the likes of Walsall and Millwall.