Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Three: Barnsley v Preston North End

Team News

There are rumours surfacing today that Icelandic international Emil Hallfredsson could feature tonight but these are only rumours and if they prove unfounded then Reds boss Simon Davey is likely to stick with the same midfield from Saturday. Hugo Colace is still out but could return in time for the trip to Leicester this weekend.

O'Neil Thompson is still awaiting his international clearance which places more emphasis on Darren Moore being fit. Moore is struggling with a foot injury and needed injections at half-time of the 2-0 defeat against Coventry. Rob Kozluk is suspended which leaves just Luke Potter and Mounir El Haimour as cover. Potter is likely to slot in at full back to replace Kozluk if Moore is fit.

Likely Line-Up:

Luke Steele

Luke Potter

Stephen Foster

Darren Moore

Bobby Hassell

Adam Hammill

Anderson De Silva

Jacob Butterfield

Jamal Campbell-Ryce

Daniel Bogdanovic

Jon Macken

Head to Head

It's pretty hard to draw any predictions from these two sides' recent meetings. Since Barnsley's return to the Championship they have met six times and it has gone, Preston, Preston, Barnsley, Barnsley, Preston, Draw. A tale of three goal-keepers is the backdrop to these two sides. Back in 2006-2007, Nick Colgan was sent off for deliberate handball after just eight minutes at Deepdale and substitute goal-keeper Vito Mannone punched the ball against Patrick Agyemang's face and into the net to win the game for the Lillywhites.

At Oakwell the next season, Heinz Muller made a stunning penalty save deep into injury time to ensure The Reds won 1-0.

Barnsley 1-0 Preston Match Report 3/11/07

Barnsley 0-1 Preston Match Report 13/1/07

Preston 1-0 Barnsley Match Report 22/9/06

Last six Barnsley v Preston Results:

28/12/08 Barnsley 1-1 Preston (Championship)

22/11/08 Preston 2-1 Barnsley (Championship)

12/4/08 Preston 1-2 Barnsley (Championship)

3/11/07 Barnsley 1-0 Preston (Championship)

13/1/07 Barnsley 0-1 Preston (Championship)

22/9/06 Preston 1-0 Barnsley (Championship)

Overall Record:

Barnsley Wins: 15

Preston Wins: 20

Draws: 11

Barnsley Goals: 56

Preston Goals: 83

At Oakwell:

Barnsley Wins: 14

Preston Wins: 6

Draws: 5

Barnsley Goals: 32

Preston Goals: 23

This Season

Preston started the 2009-2010 season in the same way as The Reds, coming from 2-0 down to draw. Theirs was far more dramatic however. They were still two goals behind at home to Bristol City with eight minutes remaining but were helped by a last gasp penalty. They followed that up with a 5-1 thumping of Morecambe in the Carling Cup and a 1-1 draw at Doncaster

Barnsley suffered their first defeat of the new campaign on Saturday as they went down 2-0 to Coventry. It means The Reds have not won at home since March. If they win tonight it would be the first time they had won, drawn and lost in the first three games since 2004.

Mad Sites:

www.barnsley-mad.co.uk

www.prestonnorthend-mad.co.uk

Official Sites:

www.barnsleyfc.co.uk.

www.pnefc.co.uk

Other Fixtures:

Blackpool v Derby, 19:45

Bristol City v QPR, 19:45

Doncaster v Coventry, 19:45

Ipswich v Crystal Palace, 19:45

Nottm Forest v Watford, 19:45