Barnsley face their second Yorkshire derby in three days as they welcome relegation battling Rotherham to Oakwell in Saturday’s big Championship clash.
Victory would see the Tykes rise to fifth if Brentford lose at Bournemouth on Saturday lunchtime, whereas Rotherham could potentially move to within a point of safety with a win.
Team News
Barnsley have no fresh injury concerns to report as Liam Kitching (groin) and Ben Williams (knee) remain ruled out.
Rotherham will be without Matt Crooks after his red card in Wednesday’s defeat to Middlesbrough.
Clark Robertson is ruled out after suffering an unspecified injury in Sunday’s defeat to Birmingham City, which forced him to miss their midweek loss.
Stat Attack
- Barnsley are unbeaten in their last ten meetings against Rotherham in all competitions (W7, D3).
- Rotherham are winless in their last 13 trips to Oakwell in all competitions (D6, L7), last beating the Tykes away from home 1-0 in August 1970 in a League Cup tie.
- Four of Barnsley’s six goals this month have come from Daryl Dike, with Alex Mowatt the only other player to find the net with two goals.
- Rotherham have kept clean sheets in two of their last three away trips (W1, D1, L1).
- Gavin Ward is refereeing a Barnsley game for the first time this season.
Prediction
Having pulled a six point buffer on Reading, Barnsley can afford at least one defeat in their last three matches which is a nice position for them, especially after delivering a ruthless attacking performance at Huddersfield which only yielded one vital goal in midweek.
Rotherham meanwhile will be irked at how they let Wednesday’s defeat to Boro get away from them, having struck early to take the lead before Crooks’ red card allowed the visitors to fight back in a crushing performance.
This game therefore should be quite interesting because for all of their attacking intent, Barnsley aren’t exactly clinical whereas Rotherham need any result to stop their losing streak, which means that the first goal could well be key.
If Rotherham find the net first then I can see a draw otherwise I can see Barnsley claiming a routine win.
Prediction: Barnsley 2-0 Rotherham
Result: Barnsley 1-0 Rotherham
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