Argyle’s sixth game of the Sky Bet League One season sees Barnsley visit Home Park.
Both the Tykes and Argyle have the same record from five games: seven points, coming from two wins, a draw, and two defeats.
However, Argyle come into the game having won 3-2 at Doncaster Rovers last weekend, while Barnsley lost 5-1 at home to Stevenage.
In some ways, Argyle’s position of 14th is a little misleading – Burton, in sixth, for example, only have one point more – but Head Coach Tom Cleverley is aware of the psychological boost that a win at the weekend, and a subsequent lift up the table, could have on players and fans alike.
He also, in his preview of the game on Argyle TV, discussed the benefits of a short period without midweek fixtures.
“It's been a good week's preparation with the players,” Tom said. “It’s a real luxury for head coaches in League One, to have a clear week to prepare the team for an important game.
“Barnsley have had a similar start to the season as ourselves. They will be wanting to respond from a disappointing result last week, even though the game was probably more level than it looked on the scoresheet.
“We're wary of a potential wounded animal, but we've prepared our boys to implement our style on the game, to really connect with the supporters, and continue this forward momentum because every game early in the season is so pivotal of where you can spend Saturday evening in the league table.
“If you deliver the correct processes 46 times, you'll have the best chance of being successful. Every one of those games is one out of 46, but I've been a player, and I know that I slept a lot better and had a little bit more confidence if, on gameweek seven, we were in the top six, rather than 16th or 17th.
“We're not getting ahead of ourselves but to have a two-week block of Saturday-Saturday is rare. We pencilled in this period to really knuckle down on refreshing things that we're successful at, and adding a couple of layers on to develop the team. We're well under way with that. The players have been brilliant this week and we're all hoping to see that come out on Saturday.
“[Barnsley’s last result] is taken out of the equation. We feel like we've got a professional enough group to take every game at absolute maximum because if you don't, you get punished. Saturday will be no different. They're clearly a good team, they've gone through a lot of change, they're very young, but with that becomes a fearlessness, enthusiasm and energy.
“They're a good football team. I think they're third in their possession stats, so they like to keep the ball, move you around. We have to prepare a game plan to make sure it's more about what we do, but it'll be a tough test, we need to prepare well for it and be at our absolute maximum.”
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You can watch Tom Cleverley’s Barnsley preview on Argyle TV, in full, here.
