Alex Mowatt is relishing the prospect of facing his former team in the Yorkshire derby on Sunday.
Barnsley host Leeds United at Oakwell in the Sky Bet Championship, and the Reds’ midfielder is hoping that history can repeat itself in this eagerly anticipated encounter.
“One of my last games at Leeds was the 3-2 at Oakwell and it was a great game that Barnsley won and hopefully we can do that again on Sunday,” said Mowatt.
“You always want to play well and win every game, anyway, but, when it’s your former team, you’re dying to play well and want to win.
“It’ll be a good game on Sunday and, with it being a derby game, it will be a good atmosphere as well.”
The Whites are currently third in the table following a strong start to the campaign, but they were undone by early-season pace-setters Swansea City in their last outing at Elland Road.
Marcelo Bielsa has assembled a side capable of ending Leeds’ 15-year exile from the top flight, but Mowatt feels Barnsley can claim bragging rights if they play to their capabilities.
“I think, since he [Bielsa] has gone in, he’s changed the team completely, with similar players to what they had before, so it proves how good a manager he is,” continued the Reds’ midfielder.
“Everyone can see the way that they play football and how well they did last season and how well they’ve started this season that the manager is unbelievable.
“They’ll be right up there at the end of the season; they’re one of the best teams in the league.
“We need to start better than we did in the last game here and we can’t go in like that; we need to make this a derby game – go in with a high tempo, which is what we do. We need to get back to that and up our game.”
You can watch Alex’ full press conference on iFollow Barnsley.
