All the information needed ahead of tomorrow's match at Oakwell..
Barnsley v Bristol City
The Reds will be looking to build on last weekend’s away win at Brentford as they welcome Bristol City to Oakwell tomorrow.
Goals from Adam Armstrong and Sam Winnall secured a much-needed three points for the Reds at Ashton Gate following a run of six games without a win.
The victory moved Paul Heckingbottom’s side up to 12th place in the table but without a home triumph in their last four Oakwell outings, the Barnsley head coach will be hoping for another improved display tomorrow afternoon.
Bristol City arrive in South Yorkshire meanwhile, having moved back into the play-off places following their 1-0 win at home to Blackburn Rovers last Saturday.
It ended a run of two straight defeats which had threatened to derail their highly promising start to the campaign.
Before those defeats however the Robins had won four on the bounce and despite Johnson’s men faring better at home so far this term, they have won two of their last four on the road.
Previous Meetings
Following a season apart, tomorrow’s game will see Barnsley and Bristol City reunited for the first time since March 2015.
In that 2014-15 League One campaign, both matches between the sides ended as 2-2 draws, with Joe Bryan netting a late equaliser for the Robins in the most recent meeting.
Although they couldn’t be separated in those games, a win apiece was secured in the 2012-13 season, with the Tykes winning 1-0 at Oakwell courtesy of a Jacob Mellis effort, while at Ashton Gate it was a much more entertaining affair as the Robins edged an eight-goal thriller 5-3.
That was the Bristol Club’s 41st success in this fixture and with the Reds trailing behind on 30, they will be looking to bridge that gap, starting tomorrow.
Team News
Paul Heckingbottom will have to make changes to his winning XI from last weekend however, with the skipper Conor Hourihane suspended after picking up his 5th caution of the season at Griffin Park.
Adam Armstrong partnered Sam Winnall in attack and with both forwards getting on the score sheet against the Bees, they will be eager to start once again tomorrow.
Elsewhere, Andy Yiadom and James Bree could be given the nod in the full-back positions again, while Sam Morsy is likely to continue in the centre of midfield with Josh Scowen sitting out the final game of his three-match ban.
Saidy Janko and Aidy White will also be absent for the Reds due to injury, but Ryan Williams will be hoping for more minutes after featuring for the first time this season last weekend.
For the visitors Bristol City, midfielder Bobby Reid should return to league action after a dead leg ruled him out of last week’s win at home to Blackburn.
Mark Little was fit enough to start on the bench in that game following a hamstring injury but after being an unused substitute, he will be hoping to be involved tomorrow.
One man who did get on the pitch was veteran striker Aaron Wilbraham and he will be pushing for a start after hitting a late winner for the Robins at Ashton Gate.
Man in the Middle
Geoff Eltringham will take charge of a Barnsley game for the second time this season tomorrow. The County Durham-based official was the referee for the Reds’ 2-1 success at Preston in September; a game in which he produced six yellow cards.
That was Barnsley’s third win in eight meetings with Eltringham in charge; losing four and drawing the other.
Bristol City meanwhile have suffered defeats in all three of their previous meetings with the official including in December when they went down 2-0 at home to Blackburn Rovers.
So far this season Eltringham has overseen 12 games in total; handing out 36 yellow cards and two reds.
Their Star Man
At the age of 19 and with just two substitute appearances to his name for parent Club Chelsea, striker Tammy Abraham joined Bristol City on loan in August with the aim of gaining both some match sharpness and experience.
What has happened since then however has surpassed nearly everyone’s expectations.
The giant forward has netted 11 times in his first 17 appearances; three of which came in his first three games including a double against Burton Albion.
Since then, Abraham has continued to flourish in a number nine role alongside the creative influence of Lee Tomlin; bagging a full repertoire of goals with both his head and feet.
The England U21 international – who also has two assists to his name this term – was named as the Championship’s Young Player of the Month for September and with his clinical nature in front of goal, the Bristol City faithful will be confident of seeing their new marksman reach the 20-goal mark during his season-long loan move from Stamford Bridge.
Mutual Man
On the back of Barnsley’s promotion to the Championship in 2006, the Reds completed the signing of exciting winger Michael McIndoe from South Yorkshire rivals Doncaster, where he had enjoyed a fine three-year spell.
The Scotsman made his Tykes debut in a 2-1 home defeat against Cardiff but on just his second outing for the Club, he hit Barnsley’s first as they came back from two goals down to win 3-2 at Hull.
With his performances continuing to go from strength to strength, which included goals against Leeds and the MK Dons as well as a brace at Burnley, interest began to grow in the Edinburgh-born wide man’s services.
After just 20 appearances in a Barnsley shirt, McIndoe joined Wolves on loan in November 2006 before making that switch permanent just two months later.
Just seven months on however and the former Scotland B international was on the move again, this time joining Bristol City for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract.
The skilful winger spent all but one of those years at Ashton Gate, making 97 appearances for the Robins and scoring 13 goals; one of which came against Barnsley in January 2009 as the Reds went down 2-0 in Bristol.
McIndoe’s proudest achievement during his time with the Robins however came as he helped them reach the Championship play-off final in his first season at the Club but unfortunately for the attacker, a Dean Windass effort sent Hull up at his new side’s expense.
After spending two years at Ashton Gate, the former Luton, Hereford and Yeovil man enjoyed two seasons with Coventry, who remain the 36-year-old’s last professional Club.
Form Guide
Barnsley’s last five at home: (WLDLL)
Barnsley 4-0 Rotherham United (27/08/2016)
Barnsley 1-2 Reading (17/09/2016)
Barnsley 1-1 Aston Villa (27/09/2016)
Barnsley 2-4 Fulham (15/10/2016)
Barnsley 0-2 Newcastle United (18/10/2016)
Bristol City’s last five on the road: (LWWLL)
Sheffield Wednesday 3-2 Bristol City (13/09/2016)
Fulham 1-2 Bristol City (EFL Cup; 21/09/2016)
Fulham 0-4 Bristol City (24/09/2016)
Cardiff City 2-1 Bristol City (14/10/2016)
QPR 1-0 Bristol City (18/10/2016)
