The Reds are on home soil this weekend for the first time in 2020 with local rivals The Terriers the visitors - it's time for the preview!
With progression in the FA Cup ensured last weekend, it's back to league action for Barnsley with West Yorkshire outfit Huddersfield Town coming to Oakwell as the battle for second tier survival continues in a 3pm kick-off.
The Reds' first game of the New Year didn't go as planned; a Wayne Rooney-inspired Derby County edged Barnsley 2-1 at Pride Park on January 2. That halted the Reds' five-match unbeaten run in the Sky Bet Championship and it's three games now since Gerhard Struber's side tasted victory in the league.
Last Sunday's 3-1 triumph in 'the oldest cup competition in the world' against League Two high-flyers Crewe Alexandra was another positive, however. There were welcome goals for Jacob Brown and Luke Thomas in particular who ended their particular personal goal droughts and Conor Chaplin, the final part of the frontline trio bagged yet again to carry his red-hot form into a New Year.
Ahead of this big fixture, Head Coach, Struber sat down with the press in midweek to help preview it along with new signing Marcel Ritzmaier and iFollow Barnsley subscribers can watch both of their pre-match press conference interviews by clicking on the linked videos below.
There is very little to concern the boss in terms of the health of his squad right now, with only Cauley Woodrow nursing a knock at present. And whilst the Reds did see Cameron McGeehan depart the club (loaned to Portsmouth) this week, Struber bringing in Ritzmaier, his former Wolfsberger midfielder and also adding young full-back Kilian Ludewig on a loan deal means for now, the numbers have increased.
Tickets for this Category B clash are selling quickly and our visitors are expecting to sell out their allocation also, but they do remain on sale both online and in-store. Click the linked image below and make sure you're here cheering on Gerhard and his team in what is likely to prove a key fixture in terms of the fight to retain Championship status.
Our visitors from across the county to the west are coming into this clash with up and down form, but with three wins in their last six matches. There's definitely been an upturn in performances, and results since the Terriers appointed former Lincoln City boss Danny Cowley.
They were however, well-beaten in their last league fixture; going down 5-2 at home against fellow relegation strugglers Stoke City at the John Smith's Stadium.
"It's definitely been challenging but we've navigated through a really tough storm and I can actually, somewhere in the distance, see a bit of sun."
Huddersfield have won three games on the road this season, with their most recent being the 1-0 success in the capital at the start of December, against another side struggling for form in Charlton Athletic.
Benin international striker Steve Mounié has come into some good form of late, scoring three times in his last four games, including winners against both Nottingham Forest and Blackburn Rovers having endured a largely frustrating couple of years in Kirklees.
The Reds were on the losing side in the reverse fixture back in October. Jacob Brown grabbed a consolation goal but the damage had been done with goals in either half from Christopher Schindler and Karlan Grant.
It's a more positive story however, when looking at this particular Yorkshire Derby clash when played at Oakwell, with Barnsley winning eight of the last dozen league fixtures here.
The most memorable obviously being the 7-1 demolition back in the 1998/99 campaign where a debut to remember from Craig Hignett inspired the Reds to one of their biggest ever victories.
With this fixture being a 3pm kick-off on a Saturday, the iFollow Barnsley live stream will not be available for UK subscribers on this occasion.
Our overseas supporters however, they do have that as an option this weekend. For UK subscribers unable to get to Oakwell, we will have live and uninterrupted commentary from just before 3pm with our own Matt Bailey on the mic.
Just click on the linked image below for all your Match Pass options as the Reds welcome the Terriers to Barnsley for a crunch Championship clash to kick off 2020!
