Posh host managerless Barnsley at London Road on the first day of 2013.
Peterborough United entertain Barnsley at London Road on New Years Day (3pm) with the visitors arriving having parted company with their boss Keith Hill following the home defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
The Tykes sunk to the bottom of the npower Championship table following the 3-1 home reverse and the directors at the club acted swiftly to remove Hill from his position. Assistant boss Gary Flitcroft will be in the dugout against Posh.
Darren Ferguson's men were beaten 4-2 at Bristol City with striker Lee Tomlin dismissed inside the first quarter of an hour. Grant McCann and Dwight Gayle scored the goals for Posh.
Gayle can equal a club record for scoring in successive league matches if he can find the net against Barnsley. Aaron Mclean holds that record (7) for his scoring feat in League Two.
Boss Ferguson commented: 'Dwight is a natural goal-scorer and has made a fantastic impact at the club since he has joined. Even against Bristol City with limited service he caused problems and got his goal.
'We come up against a Barnsley side who have parted company with their manager. I know Keith well and I also know his assistant so it will be interesting to see what they do, but I am focused on our performance and we need to start the game a lot better than we did on Saturday,' Ferguson said.
Posh are expected to be without Lee Tomlin, who was sent off against the Robins. Dave Hibbert, Kgosi Ntlhe and Peter Grant are long term absentees. Kane Ferdinand, Danny Swanson and Shaun Brisley are all pushing for starts after impressive cameos from the bench.
The game against Barnsley is a Category 'C' game and fans are able to pay on the turnstiles. Remember under 16s are admitted for just £5 in the South Stand and under 10s can watch the action free of charge when accompanied by a paying adult.