Barnsley vs Brighton
Saturday 5th April 2014
Kick-off 3.00pm
After making it two wins in a row last weekend against Yeovil, winning 4-1, Danny Wilson’s Barnsley are now 22nd in the Championship.
Now closing in on Charlton who are level on points in the place above, the Reds will definitely have all three points in their sights again this weekend as Brighton will be the visitors to Oakwell.
For what could turn out the be a good run of form for Barnsley, it couldn’t have come at a better time as this year’s attempt at the ‘great escape’ seems to be getting into full swing.
Record
This will be the 36th time that this fixture has been played in the Football League.
Barnsley wins over Brighton- 14
Brighton wins over Barnsley- 13
Draws- 8
Memory Lane
Barnsley have a good record of late against Brighton having won the two most recent meetings between the sides 2-1.
The last of those wins came earlier this season in December as Barnsley picked up an important three points at the AMEX Stadium.
Goals from Paddy McCourt and Jacob Mellis secured all three points that day for the Reds and breathed hope into their season as at that time they were faltering in last place.
A repeat of December’s performance from Barnsley would be a great result again this weekend as the only job now is to keep adding points to the tally.
Players to watch
As Barnsley put four past struggling Yeovil last weekend, Liam Lawrence was amongst the action and he scored his first goal for the Reds, netting from long range.
Since arriving in a bid to try and change Barnsley’s fortunes, Lawrence’s experience has seemingly spurred the rest of the squad on to do well.
Having played in most of the divisions in England, Lawrence is a vital part of the team and Danny Wilson will be happy to call on the ability of such a proven player.
The Seagulls’ top man so far this year has been Leonardo Ulloa, the Argentinian striker has so far netted 12 times this year and is Brighton’s top goal scorer.
Merely a few wins away from the play-offs, the Seagulls will be looking to Ulloa to carry on his fantastic form and guide them further towards the top.
Ulloa made his name playing in Spain and enjoyed two excellent spells with Castellon and Almeria, during his time with those two clubs Ulloa netted an impressive 69 times in 168 appearances before making his move to Brighton.
Team News
Barnsley are still missing defenders Peter Ramage, Martin Cranie and Jack Hunt through injury. Reds striker Marcus Pedersen could also be joining them on the side-lines after he picked up a hamstring injury during last week’s win over Yeovil.
Craig Mackail-Smith and Will Hoskins are set to make their returns for the visitors as the pair have endured long stretches out of action through injury.
Brighton’s Rohan Ince is a doubt to feature and defender Bruno is suspended after picking up 10 bookings.
League Form
Barnsley
W- (A) Yeovil 4-1
W - (A) Reading 3-1
L- (H) Bournemouth 1-0
L-(A) Watford 3-0
L- (H) Leicester 3-0
Brighton
L- (H) Middlesbrough 2-0
L- (A) Sheffield Wednesday 1-0
L- (H) Ipswich 2-0
W- (A) Bolton 2-0
W- (H) QPR 2-0
Betting
Barnsley win: 5/2
Brighton win: 11/10
Draw: 23/10
1st goal scorer:
Chris O’Grady: 5/1
Leonardo Ulloa: 7/2
Officials
Referee- Tony Harrington
Assistant Referees- Shaun Hudson & Neil Sharp
Fourth Official- Jason Tyas
