The Reds are leaving the country again this weekend, but hoping for a better result against high-flying Swansea City.
It's a long old journey on Saturday for Valérien Ismaël's in-form Reds outfit, a 500-mile round-trip to take on promotion chasers Swansea City in a 3pm kick-off.
The Reds head south to the Welsh coast in good spirits, having won their last three league fixtures. Their come-from-behind victory in midweek against Preston North End propelled Ismaël's side into the top half of the Sky Bet Championship table.
Second half goals from the captain, Alex Mowatt and later from substitute Victor Adeboyejo saw us run out 2-1 winners - for also - the third match in succession.
It was the third win from five in which Barnsley had gone behind but fought back to win, showing a refreshing resilience about this current squad who are now a huge 12 points clear of the bottom three.
Against PNE however, there was a fifth booking of the season for Callum Styles and so the 'Bury Baggio' will not be heading to Wales this weekend as he serves a one-match suspension.
This is likely to bring Clarke Oduor back into the starting lineup, who was arguably the Reds' standout player in this same fixture last term.
Valérien will though be without Aapo Halme who suffered a toe injury in the Sheffield Wednesday victory last weekend and isn't likely to return until next year.
But Jordan Williams is back in training after his lengthy spell on the sidelines, boosting the French boss in terms of defensive options in the absence of both the big Finn and our in-form but suspended left wing-back.
Saturday's hosts were surprisingly beaten 2-0 in the week by a struggling Derby County side who registered a rare victory. It was more of a shock considering the Jacks had gone into that clash having just claimed Welsh bragging rights at the weekend when beating Cardiff City in the nation's capital, by the same scoreline.
Swansea remain fourth in the current standings however, and five points ahead of the Reds after 19 fixtures this season.
They have lost only once so far on home soil in 20/21, beaten in mid-October by Huddersfield Town (2-1).
Cooper's men also have the best defensive record in the division, conceding just 12 goals at this stage of the campaign, whereas Barnsley have seen double that number drop into their net.
Last season there was no victor in this fixture, neither home or away.
A 1-1 draw at Oakwell was followed by a goalless draw in the final game of 2019, but both matches were end-to-end and could easily have ended in victory for either club.
Aside from our momentous 2006 playoff final victory (on penalties) over the Swans, it's been a terrible fixture for Barnsley in terms of success. Indeed, we've to go right back to 1983 for our last league victory over Swansea. And 1974 for a last league win 'in' Swansea.
We are currently on a 10-game winless streak in this fixture, and haven't scored a league goal at the Liberty Stadium since Darren Moore's header back in 2010 in a 3-1 defeat.
Our record at QPR, Derby and at Hillsborough was similarly bleak-looking until 2020 though, so don't bet against the Reds turning the historical tide again this weekend.
You can enjoy full coverage, live on iFollow Barnsley on Saturday!
