Match preview - Owls v Barnsley

11 December 2020

It’s a South Yorkshire derby at Hillsborough this weekend as we host Barnsley.

Wednesday will be aiming for their first win under manager Tony Pulis, who has spoken of the need for a much-improved performance after the midweek defeat at Huddersfield.

Prior to the clash at the John Smith’s Stadium, Pulis has been pleased with many aspects of his side’s displays and believes the Owls should have gained more points from their efforts over the last three weeks.

Focusing on the clash with Barnsley, the recent history is in Wednesday’s favour, who have gone almost 12 years without defeat in this fixture.

But the Reds head into the game in good spirits with two wins from their last three outings.

Valérien Ismaël’s side are 16th in the Championship with 22 points from 17 games.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game;

MATCH DETAILS

- Date: Saturday 12 December
- Kick-off, 3.00pm
- Championship
- Hillsborough

OFFICIALS

Referee – James Linington
Assistant Referee – Adam Crysell
Assistant Referee – Matthew Jones
Fourth Official – Robert Madley

WATCH LIVE

The game is live on iFollow, with multi-angle coverage, replays and commentary from Rob O’Neill and John Pearson.

Season Ticket holders must apply before 11.00am on Saturday 12 December to guarantee access for this weekend’s game.

CLICK HERE to purchase your match pass.

TEAM NEWS

SWFC: Chey Dunkley has had a good week on the training ground and manager Tony Pulis is pleased with the progress of the defender.

The former Wigan man is yet to feature for the Owls this season.

Julian Börner will be assessed after taking a knock to the head last time out against Huddersfield. Following checks after the collision, it’s confirmed Börner has not suffered any fracture and a decision will be made ahead of the game.

Keiren Westwood (groin) is making good progress but unlikely to be involved this week.

Barnsley: The Reds have no fresh injury concerns following their 2-1 win over Wycombe in midweek.

Defender Jordan Williams will miss out on Saturday as it is confirmed he will return to training next week.

Full back Ben Williams and midfielder Mike-Steven Bahre are absent through injury.

FORM GUIDE

Wednesday: DDDLL
Barnsley: LLWLW

LAST FIVE v Barnsley

Barnsley 1-1 Owls – 8 February 2020 – Championship
Owls 2-0 Barnsley – 10 August 2019 – Championship
Barnsley 1-1 Owls – 10 February 2018 – Championship
Owls 1-1 Barnsley – 28 October 2017 – Championship
Barnsley 1-1 Owls – 1 April 2017 – Championship

LAST MEETING AT HILLSBOROUGH

Match Reports

Report: Wednesday 1-2 Barnsley

12 December 2020

Barnsley came from behind to beat Wednesday by the odd goal in three at Hillsborough.

Josh Windass notched early on but the Tykes scored twice before the break through Dominik Frieser and Cauley Woodrow to take the derby spoils.

Chey Dunkley made his long-awaited debut for the Owls and stored a valuable hour on the pitch but in the bigger picture it was an afternoon of frustration for Wednesday.

It started so well, though, as the we hit the front inside four minutes. Barry Bannan delivered a pinpoint pass over the top from which Windass advanced to round Jack Walton and tuck into an empty net.

But Barnsley responded with a swift counter that led to a leveller on 14 minutes. After Woodrow’s glanced header was deflected wide, the same player was lurking in the danger zone to plant the resulting corner home from close range.

The contest settled into an even affair, with neither side making inroads in the final third.

But that was until seven minutes before half time when Barnsley went into the lead. A slick move on the edge of the area saw Frieser take Conor Chaplin’s feed into his stride and the Austrian coolly poked beneath the outrushing Joe Wildsmith.

Wednesday started the second half on the front foot and Kadeem Harris, moved up to a striking role, brough the best out of Walton with a fierce drive on the angle.

Chaplin had the ball in the net but saw his celebrations cut short by an offside flag and the Owls headed straight upfield, where Bannan blasted narrowly over the crossbar.

Wildsmith dived low to deny Woodrow a second before substitute Joey Pelupessy twice came within a lick of paint from the same shot.

Unleashing from all of 25 yards, the Dutchman looked to have equalised only to see Walton push spectacularly on to the bar. Remarkably, the ball struck the grounded Walton’s back and then the bottom of the post in a most unlikely sequence of events.

That misfortune only served to evidence the lack of fortune that so often deserts teams at the wrong end of the table and Wednesday head to fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest in midweek for a huge basement battle by the Trent.

Wednesday: Wildsmith, Odubajo, Lees, Dunkley (Palmer 66), van Aken (Pelupessy 46), Iorfa (Rhodes 83) , Harris, Paterson (Brown 83), Bannan, Reach, Windass