Oakwell Stadium will play host to a real tale of two sides tonight (Nov 1), with an out of sorts, Barnsley taking on a confident Bristol City team, managed by their former boss, Lee Johnson.
Johnson’s Robins are currently perched in the final playoff position, just three points adrift from table-topping West Bromwich Albion. Meanwhile, Barnsley are struggling to cope with life in the second tier of English football, with just one win all season cementing their spot at the foot of the table.
Interim manager, Adam Murray, will be looking to pick up his first win since stepping in for Daniel Stendel, having fallen 2-1 to Huddersfield Town at the John Smith Stadium last week. The Tykes managed 14 shots in that match but only found the net once, with Jacob Brown halving the deficit in the 79th minute. The result means they’re still searching for their first win since the opening weekend of the campaign.
City manager, Johnson, will be hoping for a solid defensive performance from his side though, after allowing 20 shots on goal from Wigan Athletic during their last league outing that ended two goals apiece. However, he may take some confidence from his previous encounters with his former employers, having lost none of the four games in which he’s faced them (W2 D2).
Team news
It’s thought that any chance of a home win will manifest itself through top scorer, Cauley Woodrow who has netted five goals this season, four more than any other player. Barnsley may also be able to welcome back first-choice goalkeeper, Samuel Radlinger, who has been out of action since August.
Striker, Famara Diedhiou remains ruled out for the visitors, serving the second of his three-match ban after he was sent off in City’s dramatic win against Charlton Athletic. Although, Midfielder, Korey Smith and central defender, Tomas Kalas are back in contention for a place in the squad after recovering from foot and hamstring injuries, respectively.
The dangerman hoping to have an impact on his return to Oakwell is Andreas Weimann. The ex-Premier League forward has played a part in seven goals for City this season, scoring five and assisting two. With Barnsley currently being the unfortunate side to boast the worst goals conceded record in the division, Weimann will surely be confident he can notch a couple more goals to his tally.
In terms of what a win tonight would do for either club, as mentioned before, the visiting BS3 outfit would potentially go level on points at the top of the table. On the other hand, if The Tykes did find their first league win in 13 games, they’d climb above fellow strugglers Stoke City, provided results go their way throughout the weekend.
Moreover, as the 15th game of the long, arduous, campaign dawns on both sides, it should be noted that a club’s position in the table come Christmas time is often an indicator of how things will end. Therefore, interim gaffer, Murray, will hope to pick up the pace with his team so he can secure a less menacing league place before handing over the reins to a newly appointed head coach, or if he wants to win the post for himself.
Finally, one thing that will be for sure, this fixture will be a fascinating battle and perhaps an exciting one. In the last seven outings between these two, they’ve managed to produce 33 goals which works out an average of 4.7 goals per game. Maybe just famous last words, though.
Pre-match talk
City's assistant head coach Jamie Mcallister spoke to the press ahead of the game, saying this:
“We feel in the last couple of games we could have done a little bit more.
“I think it will be a tough test on Friday against Barnsley, obviously we want to get back to winning ways.”
Meanwhile,Murray is confident in the ability of his side despite their current league position, he said:
“On our day, especially at home, I back us against anyone and we’ll focus on ourselves. We’ll make sure that we’re right – they’ve got certain strengths and weaknesses, and it’s up to us to exploit them.
“I think the Huddersfield game came too quick, with it being three games in a week and the effort the boys put in on the Tuesday night – we didn’t have that vibe about us. But I’ve got full belief in these players and I think if we perform how we did in the two previous games then we won’t have a problem.”