Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Twenty Nine: Middlesbrough v Barnsley

Team News

Ryan Shotton misses out as he starts a four match suspension for his red card against Watford. Bobby Hassell should be fit though after missing five games with a knee injury. If not, Nathan Doyle could revert to full-back. Manager Mark Robins must also decide whether to go with the 4-4-1-1 formation that produced a 4-1 win last time on the road, or go with the 4-4-2 that worked better against Watford.

Likely Lineup:

Luke Steele

Carl Dickinson

Darren Moore

Stephen Foster

Bobby Hassell

Felipe Teixeira

Emil Hallfredsson

Nathan Doyle

Hugo Colace

Anderson De Silva/ Jay Rodriguez

Andy Gray

Head To Head

Barnsley are making their first ever trip to the Riverside Stadium tonight and will be looking to improve on their record at Boro’s previous ground- Ayresome Park. The Reds have won just three times in 24 trips to Teesside, with Boro claiming the spoils on 17 occasions. Their last visit came way back in March 1995 when they shared the points in 1-1 draw, Andy Payton getting The Reds goal. The year before that The Reds had a wretched time against Boro, losing 4-1 at home and 5-0 away. Barnsley’s last victory at Middlesbrough came in April 1992, when they won 1-0.

Barnsley are looking for their first “double” of the season tonight, after they defeated Gordon Strachan’s side 2-1 at Oakwell back in December. A freak goal from Justin Hoyte gave Boro a half time lead, but The Reds fought back through Stephen Foster and Hugo Colace. If The Reds do beat Boro tonight it will be their first double over them since the 1991/1992 season when they also won 2-1 at home and then 1-0 away.

Barnsley 2-1 Middlesbrough Match Report 28/12/09

Last Six Middlesbrough v Barnsley results:

28/12/09 Barnsley 2-1 Middlesbrough (Championship)

22/4/95 Barnsley 1-1 Middlesbrough (Division One)

14/3/95 Middlesbrough 1-1 Barnsley (Division One)

26/4/94 Middlesbrough 5-0 Barnsley (Division One)

24/8/93 Barnsley 1-4 Middlesbrough (Division One)

13/4/92 Middlesbrough 0-1 Barnsley (Second Divison)

Overall Record:

Middlesbrough Wins: 24

Barnsley Wins: 12

Draws: 10

Middlesbrough Goals: 84

Barnsley Goals: 41

At Ayresome Park (Tonight will be the first time The Reds have played at the Riverside Stadium)

Middlesbrough Wins: 17

Barnsley Wins: 3

Draws: 4

Middlesbrough Goals: 49

Barnsley Goals: 13

This Season

It has been a pretty disappointing season for Middlesbrough, as the relegation Teesiders have had to watch the two sides who came down from the Premier League with them in May- Newcastle and West Brom challenge for immediate promotion; they have had to languish in midtable. Gareth Southgate was fired in October; with Boro fourth and just a point off the top. He was replaced by Gordon Strachan but things have got worse before better. Strachan has won just three of his 16 matches in charge, but considering the victories have been 5-1, 3-0 and 4-1, it shows potential is there. Things have improved in recent weeks however and the signings of Barry Robson, Chris Killen and Willo Flood from Strachan’s former club Celtic in the January transfer window have helped the club go four games unbeaten- three of them draws. It is Boro’s home form which is of pressing concern however, as they have lost six times at the Riverside this season- only Plymouth have lost more home games this season and have only won four times on their own patch- one in August, one in September, one in October and one in December.

Barnsley are looking for three successive victories for the second time this season and if they defeat Boro tonight it will give them their sixth victory on the road this season, which is the same amount as they achieved in the whole of 2006-2007 and have not achieved at this level since.

Record for 6^th February:

Middlesbrough have a pretty inconsistent record on the 9^th February, winning seven and losing nine of the 18 games they have played on this date, and they have won just one of the last five- the most recent game, 1-0 against Fulham in the Premier League in 2008. Boro have had some quite epic wins on this date though- beating Derby 4-1 in 1907, Wolves 8-3 in 1929 and Plymouth 5-4 in 1963. The 9^th February also saw a 6-2 thumping from Manchester City in 1935.

Barnsley are even more inconsistent on the 9^th February as they have won six and lost six of their 17 games. The Reds are though unbeaten on this date since 1970- a run of six games. They won their most recent game back in 2008 when they defeated West Brom 2-1 at Oakwell in 2008. Daniel Nardiello and Jon Macken getting the goals against a side who would end up the Championship champions that season.

Overall playing record for 9^th February:

Middlesbrough: Played 18, Won 7, Drawn 2, Lost 9, Scored 32, Conceded 29

Barnsley: Played: 11 Won: 4 Drawn: 4 Lost: 3 Scored: 11 Conceded: 15

Played 17, Won 6, Drawn 5, Lost 6, Scored 26, Conceded 28

Last six 2009-2010 Results

Middlesbrough:

6/2/10 Ipswich 1-1 Middlesbrough (Championship)

30/1/10 Middlesbrough 0-0 Bristol City (Championship)

26/1/10 Doncaster 1-4 Middlesbrough (Championship)

23/1/10 Middlesbrough 1-1 Swansea (Championship)

16/1/10 Sheffield United 1-0 Middlesbrough (Championship)

2/1/10 Middlesbrough 0-1 Manchester City (FA Cup)