Cardiff will be without defender Lee Naylor, who is struggling with back and hamstring injuries.
First-choice goalkeeper Tom Heaton (groin) and deputy David Marshall (elbow) remain sidelined so loanees Stephen Bywater and Jason Brown will compete for a starting berth.
Manager Dave Jones will also hope Jay Bothroyd can get back among the goals, the striker, capped by England earlier this season, having failed to score since early February, with the Bluebirds' early league dominance stalling as a result.
Barnsley manager Mark Robins is hoping to pick from an almost full-strength squad for the clash.
Paul McShane is expected to declare himself fit despite breaking his nose in the midweek win over Scunthorpe, leaving only fellow defender Luke Potter on the sidelines.
Potter, who has been out since November, will be missing for another eight months after suffering a recent setback in his recovery from medial knee ligament damage.
Fellow defender Bobby Hassell is expected to overcome the hamstring injury that has kept him out of the last two matches, while Jay McEveley appears to have put his recent knee injury behind him after returning to the side at Derby last week.
Striker Marlon Harewood, on loan from Blackpool, is expected to retain his place alongside Danny Haynes after scoring both goals in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Scunthorpe.
Strikers Garry O'Connor and Andy Gray and midfielders Goran Lovre, Jacob Butterfield and Martin Devaney are all pushing for recalls.
