The three-time Glendinning Medallist has been out of action since round 2 with a knee injury but he was named in the preliminary squad of 25 for the match against the Eagles.
Lyon told the Perth football media he expected Barlow to play.
“I’m really, really, really, really confident,” he said.
“He’s trained well. He did a huge amount on Monday so we backed him off on Wednesday so he’d be cherry ripe for Friday’s training.”
But Lyon warned there was still a lot of water to go under the bridge before the ball was bounced in the 39th Derby and stopped short of declaring Barlow a certain starter.
“Anything can happen from here,” he said.
“I’ve woken up game day with two gastros and players out, and in the last training session it’s easy to get a couple of nicks.
“I cant be definitive who’s in. We’ve named the 25 but we’re really optimistic that he’ll be fine, which is great for us because he’s a very good player.”
The senior coach also revealed that Anthony Morabito was unavailable for selection this week because of illness.
Morabito did not train on Wednesday after Lyon had indicated on Tuesday night that the 22-year-old was a chance to play his first game in more than three years.
“He’s come down with severe tonsillitis (and) he wont train today, he’s been sent home,” Lyon said.
“That’s unfortunate.”
Lyon said Morabito was closing in on a return to top-level football if he continued performing well for Peel Thunder.
“He will play, at this rate, AFL football this year,” he said.
“With his capacity, he’s virtually at AFL level. Hopefully he’ll still get to play in the WAFL on the weekend.”
Lyon also quashed suggestions Nathan Fyfe was unwell this week.
A news report claimed the star on-baller had to be quarantined from his teammates during the week with a bout of the flu.
“It certainly wasn’t the flu,” Lyon said.
“He’s basically 100 per cent.”
