Team News
Reds boss Keith Hill must have run over a million black cats and stepped under even more ladders as he saw his injury crisis WORSEN following the 1-1 draw at Derby in midweek.
Already missing Rob Edwards, Luke Potter, Matt Done, Goran Lovre, Danny Haynes, Reuben Noble-Lazarus and Craig Davies, the name of midfielder David Perkins has been added to that list after he suffered a hamstring injury in the first half at Pride Park which is likely to keep him sidelined for two weeks. The severity of the club’s injury list can be summed up by the fact that Perkins was the last ever-present and after just nine matches Barnsley are the only club without at least one player who has been on the field for every minute of their Championship campaign this season.
Some bright news for Hill is that the calf strain and cramp that also forced both Jay McEveley and Ricardo Vaz Te off on Tuesday has cleared and Miles Addison is available again. The 22 year old made his comeback from an ankle problem as a substitute at Birmingham last weekend but was ineligible to face his parent club Derby.
Likely Line-Up:
Luke Steele
Jay McEveley
Stephen Foster
Bobby Hassell
Jim McNulty
Jacob Butterfield
Scott Wiseman
Jim O’Brien
Ricardo Vaz Te
Danny Drinkwater
Andy Gray
Head To Head
Last Six Barnsley v Coventry results:
3/1/11 Barnsley 2-1 Coventry (Championship)
23/10/10 Coventry 3-0 Barnsley (Championship)
9/1/10 Coventry 3-1 Barnsley (Championship)
15/8/09 Barnsley 0-2 Coventry (Championship)
21/1/09 Coventry 1-1 Barnsley (Championship)
16/8/08 Barnsley 1-2 Coventry (Championship)
Overall Record:
Barnsley Wins: 15
Coventry Wins: 25
Draws: 12
Barnsley Goals: 65
Coventry Goals: 91
At Oakwell:
Barnsley Wins: 13
Coventry Wins: 7
Draws: 6
Barnsley Goals: 43
Coventry Goals: 30
This Season
Last six 2011-2012 results:
Barnsley:
27/9/11 Derby 1–1 Barnsley (Championship)
24/9/11 Birmingham 1–1 Barnsley (Championship)
17/9/11 Barnsley 1-1 Watford (Championship)
10/9/11 Barnsley 1–1 Leicester (Championship)
27/8/11 Millwall 0-0 Barnsley (Championship)
20/8/11 Reading 1-2 Barnsley (Championship)
W: 1 D: 5 L: 0 F: 6 A: 5 GD: 1 Points: 8
Coventry:
27/9/11 Coventry 2–2 Blackpool (Championship)
24/9/11 Coventry 1-1 Reading (Championship)
19/9/11 Ipswich 3-0 Coventry (Championship)
10/9/11 Coventry 2-0 Derby (Championship)
27/8/11 Middlesbrough 1-1 Coventry (Championship)
20/8/11 Coventry 0-0 Watford (Championship)
W: 1 D: 4 L: 1 F: 6 A: 7 GD: -1 Points: 7
Interesting Stats
Jacob Butterfield is looking for his fourth goal in five games and in his third in a row. The last Barnsley player to score in three successive league games was Brian Howard at the start of the 2007-2008 season when the former captain scored in the first three matches- against Coventry, Colchester and Plymouth. That though was interrupted by a Carling Cup match against Darlington where Istvan Ferenczi and Paul Reid got the Reds goals in a 2-1 win. You have to go to the end of 2006-2007 to find the last Reds player to score in three consecutive games when Daniel Nardiello scored in four to keep Barnsley in the Championship. Nardiello scored five goals in those four games to defeat Birmingham, Southend and Crystal Palace, whilst also grabbing a consolation in a 5-1 defeat at Ipswich.
Barnsley go into the game having drawn their last five matches. It is the first time they have recorded five successive stalemates since the promotion season of 1996-1997 when they drew 1-1 with Ipswich, 0-0 with Oxford and Crystal Palace, and 2-2 with Bradford and Bolton. A 1-1 tie tomorrow would be their fifth in a row, something they have “achieved” only once before. Back in 1966-67 they had five successive 1-1 draws with Rochdale, Southport, Newport, Port Vale and Luton.
If tomorrow’s match is another stalemate it will be only the second time Barnsley have drawn six matches in a row in their history and the first in just over 100 years! Back in the 1910-1911 season, they drew seven games on the bounce under the management of Arthur Fairclough- who 12 months later would lead the club to their one and only FA Cup triumph. The Reds drew the final game of March 1911 and all six matches in April before finishing the season with a 5-1 defeat at Derby that left them 19th out of 20 teams in the Second Division. Barnsley were not relegated because at that point the Football League only had two divisions!
A draw looks a good bet for tomorrow’s match too. Despite the fact only one of the last 11 meetings has ended in a stalemate both these teams have a taste for drawing this season. As mentioned before The Reds have drawn their last five matches- and six in total, the most in the division- Coventry have ended up tied in four of their opening nine games including their last two, and four of their last six.
This is not the first time in recent years that Barnsley will be hoping to make Coventry their first home victory of the season. The Sky Blues were The Reds first home opponents for three successive years in 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, but unfortunately The Reds lost them all!
Because of The Reds failure to beat Watford two weeks ago, it means this is the first time they have reached October without a home win since the 1992-1993 season when they did not register an Oakwell success until they defeated Luton 3-0 on the 10th October- their sixth home match of the season.
If The Reds do avoid defeat tomorrow for only the third time in their last 12 matches with the Sky Blues it will stretch their current unbeaten run to seven matches- their longest unbeaten run since the 2009-2010 season when they went eight without loss from 31st October to 30th January.
Barnsley defeated Coventry 2-1 at Oakwell last season but that was their first victory in 13 meetings stretching back to the Reds single season sojourn in the Premier League in 1997-1998 when they won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ashley Ward and Neil Redfearn.
Since The Reds returned to the Championship in 2006, Coventry have won eight of the 10 meetings and in three of them they scored four goals, all in a row- 4-1 on the 17th March 2007, 4-1 on the 11th August 2007 and 4-0 on the 2nd February 2008. They also triumphed 4-0 in February 2002.
Victory tomorrow would be the first time Barnsley had secured two wins in a row against Coventry since the 1960s.
Andy Gray who has netted just once so far this season is searching for his 100th league goal tomorrow. The 33 year old has netted 99 league goals in his 16 year career- 28 for Burnley, 25 for Sheffield United, 20 for Bradford, 14 for Barnsley, nine for Charlton and one each for Bury, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland. The former Scotland international has though only scored four times in his last 24 appearances.
Both clubs are under new management this campaign with Coventry’s new gaffer Andy Thorn in his first ever managerial role. The 44 year old enjoyed a playing career at Wimbledon, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Hearts and Tranmere, in which he won the FA Cup with the Dons in 1988 and reached the Final with Palace in 1990. The former England Under 21 defender joined Coventry as Chief Scout and was then made caretaker manager alongside Steve Harrison in March following the departure of Adrian Boothroyd. He was made permanent manager on the 29th April but has won just four of his 18 matches in charge.
Whilst Barnsley are yet to taste victory in front of their own supporters this season, Coventry are one of six teams yet to win on the road- losing four of their five away league games plus a 3-1 reverse at League One Bury in the Carling Cup. Like The Reds they have won just once this season- 2-0 at home to Derby and have relied on stalemates to keep them out of the bottom three.
Mad Sites
www.barnsley-mad.co.uk
www.coventrycity-mad.co.uk
Official Sites
www.barnsleyfc.co.uk
www.ccfc.co.uk
Other Fixtures
Blackpool v Bristol City, 15:00
Crystal Palace v West Ham, 15:00
Hull v Cardiff, 15:00
Ipswich v Brighton, 15:00
Leeds v Portsmouth, 15:00
Millwall v Burnley, 15:00
Peterborough v Doncaster, 15:00
Reading v Middlesbrough, 15:00
Southampton v Watford, 15:00
Leicester v Derby, 17:20
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Nott'm Forest v Birmingham, 15:00
Source: FOOTYMAD
