After back-to-back road trips, the Reds are back on home soil this weekend for a Friday night home clash with Bristol City - it's time for the preview.
The Sky Sports cameras are back in town as the Reds face Bristol City at Oakwell on Friday 1st November in a 7.45pm kick-off.
Still without a victory since the opening day of this 2019/20 season, there had been renewed optimism after two battling performances against Swansea and West Brom saw them gain a point from each.
But last weekend's disappointing showing against local rivals Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium saw Barnsley take a step back in their efforts to fight their way off the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table.
The Yorkshire Derby did see Halifax-born Jacob Brown grab himself his first goal of the season and his first at Championship level. But it was too little too late and Barnsley go into Friday's fixture four points away from safety and in need of a win fast.
The last three games has seen the return of midfielder Kenny Dougall after ending a seven-month inury layoff and both he and caretaker boss Adam Murray spoke with the press during the week to preview the Robins clash. Both pre-match press conference videos can be seen on iFollow Barnsley or by clicking the linked videos below.
Some could argue that Bristol City aren't coming into this game in the best of form, having just drawn with Wigan and in their last away match getting beaten 3-0 by Luton Town. But the Robins are sixth in the Sky Bet Championship and will be expected to challenge for promotion come the end of the season.
Led by former Reds Head Coach Lee Johnson, City have a number of players in their squad who like their boss have Barnsley FC connections.
Midfielders Josh Brownhill and Korey Smith both spent time at Oakwell on loan and forward Marley Watkins was part of the Reds' promotion squad of 2016.
There has been a year-on-year improvement since Johnson took the reins at Ashton Gate but there does seem an increase in pressure regards the Robins finally pushing on and claiming their first promotion to the Premier League. Indeed, it’s now close to 40 years since they last played top flight football.
This isn’t a fixture that has been too kind to the Reds over the years, the Robins well ahead in terms of the head-to-head record. There have been 43 victories for City compared to 30 for Barnsley, with a further 22 matches ending in draws.
It was March last year that we last met at Oakwell, a 2-2 draw towards the end of a season that ultimately saw the Reds relegated.
It’s a fixture that is usually strewn with goals. There hasn’t been a goalless draw between the sides in the last 16 clashes. There have been 2-2 draws in four of the last six fixtures.
Due to broadcast restrictions, there will be no live stream via iFollow Barnsley for this fixture, but audio commentary will be working as normal so be sure to tune in just before kick-off.
