Barnsley are expecting a more attacking Burton Albion side tomorrow than when they drew 0-0 at Oakwell earlier in the season.
The two clubs met just 45 days ago, when Burton ended the Reds’ six-match winning run at Oakwell with a goalless stalemate on Tuesday, February 19. Nigel Clough’s side played a defensive style of football and Barnsley were unable to find a breakthrough.
Assistant coach Dale Tonge said: “Burton are a lot more attacking in home games and we are expecting a more expansive team than last time. We want our players to show more quality in the final third because we were poor in that area the last time we played Burton. We have watched our game against them and many games they have had at home against top six teams.”
The promotion-chasing Reds are unbeaten in nine away league games which is their best run since 1996 and they have the joint best away goals tally in League One while only promotion rivals Portsmouth and Luton Town have more points on their travels.
Barnsley have kept clean sheets in each of their last four away games – at Portsmouth, Southend, Doncaster and Walsall – so another shutout tomorrow would equal the club record set in 1980. Burton – who have not played for two weeks – are currently 11th in League One, ten points off a play-off place.
They won just one of 11 matches from early January but have enjoyed victory in three of their last four including back-to-back home games in which they beat Blackpool 3-0 and Accrington Stanley 5-2 after trailing 2-0. Those wins were their first at the Pirelli Stadium in 2019. Burton have the best home record outside the top six.
Tonge said: “It will be a very tough challenge. Nigel Clough always has his teams up for big games. He is a very, very tough character and his teams identify with that. They are a very hard-working group and they scored five goals in their last game so you can see the threat they have got. The way they played in the last half an hour against Accrington was very different to how they played against us so we need to be ready for both of those styles.”
Reds striker Cauley Woodrow scored five goals in 14 matches on loan to the Brewers to help them avoid relegation from the Championship in 2017. The February draw was the eighth game between the two clubs who first met in 2014. Barnsley won the first two but only one of the next six, a 4-2 success at the Pirelli Stadium last season. Burton won the reverse fixture 2-1 at Oakwell, their only victory over the Reds so far. Both clubs were relegated at the end of last season.
After this match, manager Nigel Clough will have faced Barnsley more than any other club in his managerial career but has currently won just three of his 17 games against them.
The teams are due to be led out onto the pitch tomorrow by Stephen Croft, the Oakwell volunteer who suffered a heart attack before the first fixture was due to take place in September.
The match will be played on Barnsley midfielder Cameron McGeehan’s 24th birthday. After that, Barnsley’s only away games this season are the trips to the South West to visit Plymouth Argyle on Easter Monday then Bristol Rovers for the last game of the season on May 4.
