BARNSLEY FOOTBALL CLUB

Barnsley will be looking to return to winning ways at Oakwell when they welcome Aston Villa to South Yorkshire.

The Reds’ 2-1 loss against Reading in their last home outing just over a week ago ended a run of three straight home wins in the Championship for Paul Heckingbottom’s men.

Despite that however the Tykes did put in a spirited performance and with 10 goals in their four league games at home so far, they welcome Villa still full of confidence in front of their own faithful.

Roberto Di Matteo’s side meanwhile, arrive at Oakwell having failed to taste victory on the road so far this season.

As well as their League Cup exit at League Two side Luton Town, Villa have lost two and drawn two of their four away games so far in the Championship.

Those two draws have come in their last three away from Villa Park however and with clean sheets in both of those games, they will be hoping to build on that against the Reds.

The Championship clash between Barnsley and Aston Villa will be the first in over 18 years.

The two Clubs have not crossed paths since the 1997-98 season, where Villa secured a 3-0 win in the last meeting between them at Oakwell, while the Reds fought back to win the reverse fixture 1-0 courtesy of a famous Ashley Ward goal at Villa Park.

That victory remains Barnsley’s one and only against Villa and with the 1981-82 European Cup winners winning 13 in total, as well as three draws, the Tykes will be out to start altering that record on the night.

Barnsley Head Coach Paul Heckingbottom could opt to freshen things up slightly ahead of the visit of Aston Villa.

The likes of Tom Bradshaw, and Sam Morsy will all be hoping to be involved at some stage, while Marley Watkins will also be hoping for more minutes.

Aston Villa will be without full-back Ritchie De Laet for the game, with the defender missing the Club’s last two matches with a serious knee injury.

Elsewhere, Ross McCormack will be competing with Jordan Ayew and Jonathan Kodjia for a starting berth, while Albert Adomah will also be hoping to be involved from the off.

The Reds will be hoping for more of the same when they meet with official James Adcock for a seventh time. The Nottinghamshire-based official was the man in charge when Barnsley defeated Millwall 2-1 at Oakwell in January.

Despite that and another win in his company back in 2012 against Middlesbrough, the Tykes have lost three and drawn one of their other four meetings with Adcock but will be eager to repeat January’s result tonight.

Aston Villa meanwhile, have met just once with the official and that came in August 2012 when the Villains secured a 3-0 home win against Tranmere in the League Cup.

So far this season Adcock has refereed eight matches; handing out 17 yellow cards but he is yet to brandish a red.

Jack Grealish may only be 21 but he has already made 54 appearances in the claret and blue of Aston Villa.

It was not at Villa that the Solihull-born attacker made his senior debut in football however, with Grealish making 39 appearances for Notts County during a loan move in the 2013-14 campaign.

After that successful spell, the much sought-after winger made his debut for the Villains in a 4-0 defeat at Manchester City, before making 45 appearances in the last two campaigns.

Despite being unable to help Villa survive relegation last season, the England U21 international did score his first goal for the Club in a 3-2 loss at Leicester and put in some impressive performances which saw him linked with some of the top teams in the Premier League.

New Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo was able to hang onto his young diamond during the summer however and with two goals and one assist to his name already this term, Grealish is out to make the most of being a first team regular at his boyhood Club.

Marlon Harewood is a player who has experienced a much-travelled career and despite playing for the likes of Finnish side Haka and Chinese Club Guangzhou, he also counts both Barnsley and Aston Villa amongst his former employers.

The powerful forward joined Villa in July 2007 from Premier League rivals West Ham and although he scored six goals at Villa Park during his first campaign at the Club, he struggled to cement a regular starting spot.

That continued into the 2008-09 season and it ended with Harewood joining Midlands rivals Wolves on loan. He made just five appearances there but after spending further time away from Villa Park in the following 2009-10 campaign, this time at Newcastle, his days with Villa looked numbered and in August 2010 he joined Blackpool on a free transfer.

The London-born front man joined the Seasiders on the back of their promotion to the Premier League and although he netted five times in the first half of the season, he was allowed to join Barnsley on loan in February 2011.

On just his third outing for the Reds, Harewood hit a brace in a 2-1 win against Scunthorpe; ending the campaign with four in total for the Tykes.

Following brief spells with Guangzhou and then Nottingham Forest, the forward was back at Oakwell in August 2012, but this time penning a permanent deal.

His second debut for the Club ended in a 1-0 win against Middlesbrough, which was one of 37 appearances he made for the Tykes in that campaign; scoring three goals.

Harewood’s final goal for the Reds came in a 3-1 success at the MK Dons, with the 37-year-old then enjoying spells with Bristol City and Hartlepool, before completing a switch to non-league side Nuneaton Town last summer.

Barnsley 1-2 Northampton Town (EFL Cup; 09/08/2016)

Barnsley 2-0 Derby County (13/08/2016)

Barnsley 3-2 Queens Park Rangers (17/08/2016)

Barnsley 4-0 Rotherham United (27/08/2016)

Barnsley 1-2 Reading (17/09/2016)

Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Aston Villa (07/08/2016)

Luton Town 3-1 Aston Villa (EFL Cup; 10/08/2016)

Derby County 0-0 Aston Villa (20/08/2016)

Bristol City 3-1 Aston Villa (27/08/2016)

Ipswich Town 0-0 Aston Villa (17/09/2016)