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This Saturday sees the Reds entertain Derby County in front of a bumper crowd at Oakwell in this Sky Bet League One fixture. We preview this fixture looking at what manager Michael Duff had to say ahead of the game, recent form of both sides, head to head, team news and who is the man in the middle.
Michael Duff`s thoughts
Michael Duff touched on the atmosphere ahead of Saturday given the opposition have sold out their full allocation of 5000 tickets in the Barry Murphy Stand.
Duff said “Everyone talked about Barnsley when I first came in, in terms of it being hostile and being this and that. We know it can be but it hasn’t been for whatever reasons”.
“The atmosphere will be good, because when the away teams usually bring that many fans. It rouses the home fans.”
Duff knows what to expect from a Paul Warne side.
“They press and get after you and don’t play one way. Warneys teams are always known for being fit and they press and get after you. I think they have lost one game since October which shows the challenge we are up against.”
Team News
Duff gave updates on Nicky Cadden, Josh Benson and Robbie Cundy. Cadden will return after having a few days off missing the win at Cheltenham as his partner gave birth to a baby boy.
Robbie Cundy`s knee has recovered but he now has an issue with his glute so is unavailable but will start training next week. Also returning to training next week will be Josh Benson. Otherwise, the Reds have no new injury worries ahead of Saturday.
Derby are definitely without Max Bird (calf) and James Chester (groin) for the trip to South Yorkshire. The main threat from the Rams comes from winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and striker David McGoldrick.
Head to Head
Derby have won the last three encounters between the sides winning 3-0 in the FA Cup in January, 2-1 in the corresponding league fixture in August and 2-0 back in March when both sides were in the Championship. Prior to this Barnsley won two of the three previous meetings.
Recent Form
Both sides are on great unbeaten runs in the league resulting in Derby occupying 5th place in the league table and the Reds one place and one point behind the Rams having played a game less than Derby.
Derby have only suffered one league defeat since 21st October 2021 when they lost 3-2 at Wycombe on 11th February.
Barnsley are unbeaten in 6 league games (winning 5 & drawing 1) since losing 2-0 at Charlton in January. Since late October, the Reds have only lost 2 league games, Bolton at home and the already mentioned loss at Charlton.
Bumper Oakwell crowd?
With the visitors snapping up all their 5000 allocated tickets and the Reds about to fill the Ponty End it is likely to be the biggest attendance at Oakwell this season so far.
Barnsley have designated this game “Scarf Day” asking all home fans to wear their scarves and get behind the team on Saturday. This season has seen a poor atmosphere at Oakwell but the club have worked hard to resolve this issue bringing a number of matchday initiatives forward.
Manager Duff and the board have been a pains to encourage supporters to vocally get behind the side which saw an improved atmosphere in the last home game against Cambridge. Away from home, the reds are often well backed in numbers and vocally but the Oakwell atmosphere needs improving and hopefully Saturday we will see an improvement.
Referee
Bobby Madden will officiate the game on Saturday. The 44 year old Scotsman has refereed the Reds at Oakwell this season in the 2-0 home win over Forest Green. Madden has officiated Derby once this season, in their 2-1 home win over Peterborough back in August.
Madden is an experienced referee having officiated 531 games previously issuing 1618 yellow cards, 71 red cards and giving 187 penalties.
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