Barnsley are hoping to cause a shock at Premier League Burnley in the FA Cup third round tomorrow and draw a ‘really big team’ in the fourth round.
The Reds have enjoyed a free-scoring FA Cup run so far, ending a four-year wait for victory in the competition with a 4-0 home win over Notts County in the first round then a 4-2 success at Southend United in the second round. They have sold all of their 2,500 tickets for the 12.30pm kick-off.
Barnsley’s coaching staff watched Burnley’s midweek win at Huddersfield Town. Assistant coach Andreas Winkler said: “The league is the priority but, if you are in the third round, you want to go to the next round. We are looking forward to playing a Premier League team.
“They have a strong side but you never know. We have a chance but we have to show a very, very good performance and be a bit lucky.
“They have really good centre forwards and a lot of quality on the wings and they are a very physical team but every player has a lot of quality. We will play our same style but maybe start the press a bit later.
“I think the pressure is on Burnley, they are at home and they are the higher team. We have a young squad with pace and we will be a good competitor for them. It’s not Liverpool or Man U but we have a lot of respect for a Premier League team like Burnley. It will be a tough fight and both teams want to go to the next round and face a very famous team.”
Burnley’s 2017/18 season was their best since 1973/74 as they finished seventh in the Premier League with 54 points and qualified for European football for the first time in 51 years.
This season has been much more difficult for the Clarets, as they won just three games in the first half of the season and conceded more goals in that time than in the whole of the previous campaign.
But they won 2-0 at home to West Ham United on Sunday then gained a 2-1 success at fellow strugglers Huddersfield Town on Wednesday which took them out of the relegation zone. They have 18 points from 21 games and are 16th, two points and two places clear of the bottom three.
The two clubs have been drawn together in the FA Cup twice before, more than a century apart. Burnley won 2-0 at home in 1911 then Barnsley triumphed in 2013 at Oakwell thanks to a late Danny Rose goal. That was the last time the Reds advanced past the third round, eventually losing 5-0 at Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
The 2013 cup tie was also Sean Dyche’s only defeat against Barnsley in seven clashes as a manager. In his six league meetings with the Reds as boss of Burnley and Watford, he has enjoyed three wins and three draws.His Burnley squad includes two former Barnsley loanees.
Irish international centre-back Kevin Long was loaned to the Reds by the Clarets in the middle of their 2015/16 promotion season.He scored on his debut in the win at Oldham Athletic to end an eight-match losing run then played 13 games in total including both legs of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Area final against Fleetwood Town as well as all of the seven-match winning league run which eventually led to promotion.
The 28-year-old has played just 140 games in a professional career often spent on the bench while he has only made 47 league appearances for Burnley in nine years with the club including six this season.
New Zealand striker Chris Wood played seven matches on loan from West Bromwich Albion in late 2010, failing to find the net. He later made his name across Yorkshire at Leeds United who sold him to Burnley for £15million in 2017. The 27-year-old has played every Premier League game this season.
After netting once in his first 19, he put them ahead against West Ham then scored the equaliser at Huddersfield. Wood has played against Barnsley seven times, scoring once in Millwall’s 2-1 home loss in 2012 and twice in Leeds United’s 3-2 beating at Oakwell in January 2017.
