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Match Preview: Barnsley v Leeds United
Saturday, 21st Jan 2017 15:59 by Lucas Monk

After extending their imperious unbeaten run in all competitions to seven matches, following a richly deserved 1-0 win against Derby County last Friday, Leeds United look to consolidate their position in the play-offs further with victory over Barnsley at Oakwell (17:30).

Following a seismic result against Derby County last week, Garry Monk’s Leeds United make the short excursion to Oakwell as they prepare to do battle with Barnsley (10th).

The Tykes, who are among the most prolific teams in the division in terms of goals scored, were the subject of much derision earlier this week after being knocked out of the FA Cup at home by Blackpool of League Two.

Team News

Barnsley

Star midfielder Conor Hourihane may be omitted from the starting lineup as he is presently subject to interest from Aston Villa.

Sessi D’Almeida and Saidy Janko are definite absentees as they will both be sidelined with injury, while defender Marc Roberts is a doubt after sustaining an injury against Blackpool in midweek.

Full-back Andy Yiadom is away with Ghana at the African Cup of Nations.

Leeds United

Left-back Charlie Taylor remains afflicted by injury and so will be exempted from action, while Pontus Jansson serves the final game of his two-match ban.

Winger Hadi Sacko and defender Liam Cooper are both doubts.

Midfield duo Kalvin Phillips and Eunan O’Kane are in contention for recalls.

Probable Lineups

Barnsley (4-4-2) - Davies; Bree, Roberts, MacDonald, White; Watkins, Moncur, Scowen, Hammill; Armstrong, Bradshaw.

Leeds United (4-2-3-1) - Green; Coyle, Bartley, Ayling, Berardi; Vieira, Bridcutt; Roofe, Hernandez, Doukara; Wood.

Team Facts

Barnsley

Top Goalscorers: Marley Watkins (6), Conor Hourihane (5), Tom Bradshaw (4).

Most Assists: Conor Hourihane (11), Marley Watkins (6), Sam Morsy (3).

Highest Statistical Average Rating: Conor Hourihane (7.71).

Record in 2016-17 (League) - W: 11, D: 5, L: 10.

Leeds United

Top Goalscorers: Chris Wood (17), Souleymane Doukara (4), Kyle Bartley (4).

Most Assists: Kemar Roofe (5), Pablo Hernandez (4), Hadi Sacko (3).

Highest Statistical Average Rating: Pontus Jansson (7.67).

Record in 2016-17 (League) - W: 15, D: 3, L: 8.

Media: Barnsley head coach Paul Heckingbottom and Leeds United head coach Garry Monk:

<>Paul Heckingbottom speaking to the assembled media on Wednesday:

"It's a big one isn't it?" he said. "It was always 'the' big one for me personally when I was a supporter myself, Leeds at Oakwell. I'm sure the Ponty End will be full and they'll obviously sell out the away end. To lots of Barnsley fans it's the biggest derby game. Two teams in the top half of the Championship adds that little bit extra.

"The adrenaline and the atmosphere should be good, I'm sure the fans will be up for it, and yeah we're really looking forward to it."

<>Garry Monk, speaking to leedsunited.com:

“It will be a difficult game, it is a local derby and Barnsley have done exceptionally well this season, their manager and players deserve a lot of credit for what they have done.

“They try and play football in the right way, in a way that I like, so they are going to pose problems for us.

“We have to be ready and focused, we need to be at 100% and impose ourselves on them and hopefully we can do ourselves and our fans justice.

“This group is growing all the time, we have had to adapt to certain situations, last Friday we had to make changes to the defence and the team coped with it extremely well.

“The whole team understood the situation, whoever steps into the team has delivered a good performance, to give us a chance of winning games and it is great to have that as a group.

“There will be ups and downs, but we remain focused on our work and our way of playing, with the right attitude and we know it can be successful.

“I think there is a lot more to come from this group and that is for me to push to get it out of them and the team to get it out of each other to make sure they can deliver.”

Match Facts

Only Brighton (23) have collected more points in the last 10 Championship games than Leeds (22).

Barnsley have beaten Leeds in four of their last five home league games, but lost most recently in April 2014.

The Tykes have conceded the most penalties in the Championship this season (8).

Previous Meeting

Back in October, goals from Kyle Bartley and Pablo Hernandez proved crucial for United as they fended off a late resurgence from their opposition in an eventual 2-1 win at Elland Road.

Prediction: Barnsley 1-2 Leeds United

Statistics derived from WhoScored.com

Photo: Action Images



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