Hartlepool United manager Lennie Lawrence discusses team selection ahead of trip to National League leaders Barnet

Pools are preparing for one of their toughest tests of the entire campaign when they travel to a Bees side who are unbeaten at home in the league all season. Barnet thumped strugglers Maidenhead 3-0 on Saturday and have not lost in any of their last 13 league matches. Their home record is the best in the division, with Dean Brennan's side having won 11 and drawn three of their 14 games, while their 57 goals make them the National League's leading-scorers.

While their emphatic win at the weekend helped them return to the top of the table, the Bees will be well aware that Pools, who themselves have only lost two of their last 14 games under Lennie Lawrence, are no pushovers. Pools frustrated Barnet in the reverse fixture, a 0-0 draw at the end of November, and will likely look to do something similar on Tuesday night.

Although Pools will arrive in North West London in reasonable form, there is the slight sense that their recent momentum is starting to stall following underwhelming draws against Wealdstone and Woking, who played more than an hour with 10 men on Saturday.

Lennie Lawrence and his side are set to cover a lot of miles in the next two weeks. After travelling to Barnet on Tuesday, an almost 500 mile round trip, Pools make the 252 mile journey to Braintree on Saturday before covering the mere 288 miles to Sutton the following weekend. Pools then have three home games in the space of a week, and will likely need to win at least two of those to keep themselves in play-off contention.

For now, the focus remains on this week and the daunting task of a trip to the in-form league leaders. Pools were a bit lacklustre last time out, while new signings Reyes Cleary and Sam Folarin, who both made their debuts from the bench on Saturday, are in contention for their first starts in midweek. With that in mind, Lawrence has suggested he could be tempted to make changes as Pools look to spring a surprise in the capital.

"The travelling is a factor. Even if we'd won 3-0 against Woking, I would be anticipating some changes on Tuesday," he said.

"It's a long trip to Barnet and back, then we've got to go all the way to Braintree on Friday. We'll have played three games in seven days, plus there's all the travelling that's involved. It's demanding.

"There's one or two players that haven't played for a while and need to step up and show what they can do. At least they'll be fresh and ready to go, that's the one thing I can guarantee. You can anticipate some changes for Tuesday, not as a reaction to a disappointing result, but as a response to the programme of games we've got coming up."