Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Thirty Eight: Derby County v Barnsley

Barnsley welcome Israel midfielder Andranik Teymourian back from his three match suspension, but injury doubts have surfaced for Darren Moore and Adam Hammill, who limped out of the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday. Moore suffered knocks to his shoulder, knee and thigh but should be fine to face his former side. In form Hammill is the major worry. The on loan winger strained his ankle ligaments and hasn't trained this week.

Likely Line-Up:

Heinz Muller

Rob Kozluk

Stephen Foster

Darren Moore

Bobby Hassell

Andranik Teymourian

Anderson De Silva

Hugo Colace

Jamal Campbell-Ryce

Jon Macken

Michael Mifsud

Head to Head

Barnsley head to a stadium tomorrow where they have never won. Granted, they have only ever made two trips to Pride Park but have returned pointless on both occasions. Their first trip was the first ever league match at the stadium in August 1997. The Rams had lost their first two games of the season (both away) but beat their Premier League opponents Barnsley 1-0 courtesy of a Stefano Eranio penalty. The only other visit was in November 2006 when Derby won 2-1. Bobby Hassell had put The Reds in front but two goals in four second half minutes from Giles Barnes gave Derby the points. Barnsley's record at the old Baseball Ground wasn't much better either and in fact The Reds have lost seven of their last eight away games at Derby, including the last six. They haven't won there since 1983. They have only won four of 26 away meetings. Barnsley are much better when Derby come to Oakwell however, and have won four of the last five meetings there including this season when a 2-0 success courtesy of goals from Iain Hume and Stephen Foster finally got The Reds off the mark after they had lost their opening three games of the season. The defeat for Derby extended their horrendous run without a win to 35 matches. That proved to be the end of the run as they defeated Sheffield United in their next match. The one Oakwell victory Derby have secured recently came in 2007 when they won 2-1. They were promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs at the end of the season. Something that turned into a disaster for the club.

Barnsley 2-0 Derby Match Report 30/8/08

Barnsley 1-2 Derby Match Report 31/3/07

Last Six Derby v Barnsley Results:

30/8/08 Barnsley 2-0 Derby (Championship)

31/3/07 Barnsley 1-2 Derby (Championship)

1/11/06 Derby 2-1 Barnsley (Championship)

28/12/97 Barnsley 1-0 Derby (Premier League)

30/8/97 Derby 1-0 Barnsley (Premier League)

9/12/95 Derby 4-1 Barnsley (Division One)

Overall Record:

Derby Wins: 26

Barnsley Wins: 16

Draws: 9

Derby Goals: 83

Barnsley Goals: 57

At Derby:

Derby Wins: 17

Barnsley Wins: 4

Draws: 5

Derby Goals: 58

Barnsley Goals: 19

This Season

Its been two seasons of despair for Derby. Everything looked rosy when Billy Davies led The Rams back to the Premier League after a five year absence in 2007, but the season in the top flight was nothing short of disastrous. The Rams won just once, and picked up only 11 points- a record low. Davies was sacked in November 2007, and replaced by Paul Jewell but he couldn't stop the rot and the hang over from that season has continued into this campaign. It took them five matches to get their first win and they have been stop-start ever since. Jewell left at the end of December 2008 with the club in 18^th position ( he won just seven of his 50 league games in charge) and he was replaced by Nigel Clough. He has steadied the ship somewhat, winning six of his 11 league games in charge. It has only lifted the Rams up to 17^th however, five points off the bottom three and if they lose to Barnsley tomorrow, both teams will be on the same points.

Barnsley gained a vital three points against Crystal Palace on Tuesday- only their third win in 12 matches- to lift themselves out of the bottom three with two games in hand on third bottom Nottingham Forest. They are certainly not out of the woods however, as they remain only two points above the drop zone. They will drop back into the relegation zone if they lose and Plymouth, Norwich and Forest all win. Crucially Norwich and Forest are facing the top two sides- Birmingham and Wolves.

Last Six Results:

Derby :

14/3/09 Sheffield United 4-2 Derby (Championship)

10/3/09 Southampton 1-1 Derby (Championship)

7/3/09 Derby 2-1 Bristol City (Championship)

3/3/09 Derby 2-2 Swansea (Championship)

27/2/09 Doncaster 2-1 Derby (Championship)

21/2/09 Nottingham Forest 1-3 Derby (Championship)

W: 2 D: 2 L: 2 F: 11 A: 11 GD: 0 Points: 8

Barnsley:

17/3/09 Barnsley 3-1 Crystal Palace (Championship)

14/3/09 Barnsley 0-1 Blackpool (Championship)