Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Thirty Eight: Bristol City v Barnsley

Team News

Carl Dickinson and Adam Hammill remain sidelined which means Luke Potter is set to continue in defence. The worrying lack of creativity in midfield at the weekend could see manager Mark Robins tinker with his midfield. Anderson De Silva hasn’t started a game since the 6-1 defeat at Newcastle when he was sacrificed for keeper David Preece so is pushing for a recall.

Likely Lineup:

Luke Steele

Ryan Shotton

Luke Potter

Stephen Foster

Bobby Hassell

Felipe Teixeira

Emil Hallfredsson/ Anderson De Silva

Nathan Doyle

Hugo Colace

Daniel Bogdanovic

Jon Macken

Head To Head

Barnsley are hoping to avoid a fourth successive defeat at Ashton Gate tonight, as they travel to a place where they have a wretched record. The Reds have won just four of their 40 trips to face the red half of Bristol with the Robins emerging victorious a staggering 29 times. The last victory was way back in October 1993 when the Reds won 2-0 thanks to goals from Ian Bryson and Neil Redfearn. Since then however the 380 mile round trip to the South West of the country has been a very long one.

The Reds have lost six of the nine games there since, including the last three. Last season they were beaten 2-0 in January 2009- which was the culmination of a horrible five match losing run, whilst the previous season they twice threw away the lead to lose! In December 2007, Jon Macken put Barnsley in front on 33 minutes only for Enoch Showunmi to equalise two minutes later. Dennis Souza made it 2-1 on 40 minutes, but once again the lead didn’t last long as Showunmi netted again on the stroke of half time. Then after Jamal Campbell-Ryce- now a City player- was sent off, Darren Byfield struck deep into injury time.

Barnsley even had no luck at Ashton Gate when both sides were in League One. The Reds were thumped 3-0 there in 2005-2006, but of course would go on to gain promotion whilst Bristol City would finish ninth.

The Reds record against City at Oakwell is almost the complete opposite however, having won 24 of the 42 meetings there compared to City’s eight victories. The Reds have lost just one of the last five meetings on their home turf but that did come this season and is one of only three home matches The Reds have lost under Robins.

Back in October, the Robins emerged with a 3-2 win in controversial circumstances. Nicky Maynard and Evander Sno put City into a commanding half-time lead, before Daniel Bogdanovic sneaked a shot under City keeper Dean Gerken to haul his side back into the game. City though got a harsh penalty with 15 minutes remaining as Ryan Shotton was sent off for an alleged tug on the shirt of Maynard- this coming after the referee had given The Reds a free-kick for a handball that took place INSIDE the area. Jamie McAllister missed the spot kick but Marvin Elliott netted the rebound to render Hammill’s 90^th minute effort a mere consolation.

Barnsley 2-3 Bristol City Match Report 24/10/09

Barnsley 0-0 Bristol City Match Report 25/10/08

Barnsley 3-0 Bristol City Match Report 2/10/07

Barnsley 2-0 Bristol City Match Report 4/2/06

Last Six Bristol City v Barnsley results:

24/10/09 Barnsley 2-3 Bristol City (Championship)

31/1/09 Bristol City 2-0 Barnsley (Championship)

25/10/08 Barnsley 0-0 Bristol City (Championship)

22/12/07 Bristol City 3-2 Barnsley (Championship)

2/10/07 Barnsley 3-0 Bristol City (Championship)

4/2/06 Barnsley 2-0 Bristol City (Championship)

Overall Record:

Bristol City Wins: 37

Barnsley Wins: 28

Draws: 17

Bristol City Goals: 142

Barnsley Goals: 122

At Bristol City: (37 games at Ashton Gate)

Bristol City Wins: 29

Barnsley Wins: 4

Draws: 7

Bristol City Goals: 91

Barnsley Goals: 31

This Season

This has to go down as a disappointing season for Bristol City, something which led to the departure of manager Gary Johnson last week after four and a half years in charge. Most teams would class 16^th in their third season after promotion as acceptable- but then not many have had two years like City.

After coming up from League One in 2007, they reached the Championship play-off final the following year- losing narrowly to Hull 1-0, before finishing 10^th in the last campaign. An assault on the top six looked likely again back in August when they won two of their first three games but in recent months there has been a steady decline. In fact since the 3-2 win at Oakwell back in October the Robins have slipped alarmingly- winning just four of the 24 matches since. During this time they have suffered some heavy home defeats- 6-1 to Cardiff and 5-2 to Doncaster. They have also suffered with something many Barnsley fans will know a lot about- conceding last minute goals. The Robins have conceded an amazing total of 11 goals after the 90 minute mark this season which has cost them a staggering 16 points- with those points they would be sixth! They are also the only team without a home clean sheet in 2010 and threw away a 2-0 lead against Newcastle at the weekend to enable the league leaders to gain a draw.

Barnsley are desperate for some consistency in 2010 having won six matches this year, but lost nine. They are also looking for that seventh away win- the first time they will have achieved this since winning seven in the League One promotion season of 2005-2006 and the first time they have reached that amount at this level since they won nine in the Play-Off Final season of 1999-2000.

Record for 23^rd March:

Bristol City have an average record on the 23^rd March having won seven and lost seven of the 16 matches played. They have though won the last two- beating Reading 3-1 in 2001 and Bournemouth, also 3-1, in 2002. Ironically their last loss on this date came against Barnsley, in 1999! Bruce Dyer and Craig Hignett bagged the goals to move The Reds away from the Division One relegation zone. That defeat is the only one in the last seven times City have played on the 23^rd March.

Barnsley have also won their last two matches on this date- the one against the Robins and a 2-0 success over Watford in 2002 when Bruce Dyer and a Darren Barnard penalty lifted The Reds to within a point of safety- of course they would not get it as they were relegated two months later. Those victories are two of the eight The Reds have gained on this date in 15 matches played. Their last defeat on the 23^rd March was 3-0 at Birmingham in 1993.

Overall playing record for 23^rd March

Bristol City: Played 16, Won 7, Drawn 2, Lost 7, Scored 25, Conceded 26

Barnsley: Played 15, Won 8, Drawn 2, Lost 5, Scored 24, Conceded 20

Last six 2009-2010 Results

Bristol City:

20/3/10 Bristol City 2-2 Newcastle (Championship)

16/3/10 Plymouth 3-2 Bristol City (Championship)

13/310 Reading 2-0 Bristol City (Championship)

9/3/10 Crystal Palace 0-1 Bristol City (Championship)

6/3/10 Bristol City 2-5 Doncaster (Championship)

27/210 Ipswich 0-0 Bristol City (Championship)

W: 1 D: 2 L: 3 F: 7 A: 12 GD: -5 Points: 5