Huddersfield Town make the trip to South Yorkshire to play Barnsley for their fourth pre-season friendly. Now we’re getting slightly further into the pre-season schedule it’s likely a few players will make it through 90 minutes for this game and the tempo might be getting closer to competitive football.
The relatively short journey to Barnsley and the number of fans on lower priorities worrying they’ll not get to see many away games this season makes me think there will be a strong Huddersfield Town following at Oakwell on Saturday.
Barnsley v Huddersfield Town – Match details
Kick-off: 4pm – The tickets say 3pm because the time was changed after printing but it is definitely a 4pm kickoff.
Venue: Oakwell Stadium, Grove Street, Barnsley, S71 1ET
Ticket prices: Adults: £12 / Over-65s and under-22s: £6
Pay on the day is available for Town fans
There’s some useful information about how to get to Oakwell and where to park on the Barnsley website.
Likely lineup
David Wagner said he expects a few players to play the full 90 minutes at Barnsley, so I’m going to predict he’ll play the strongest possible lineup for the game. I could be completely wrong, but here’s who I think will start:
Pre Match comments
Colling Quaner talked to HTTV ahead of the game. He talks about how well the new players are settling in, Barnsley presenting a tougher test, and the atmosphere in the dressing room. The most interesting bit was when he talked about being redeployed as a winger, he seems to confirm that he’s more likely to play out wide rather than as a central striker this season.
Things to watch out for
Will Philip Billing play?
There have been reports in the press that Swansea are weighing up a £10m bid for Billing. If there’s any weight to these rumours then David Wagner may rest Billing to avoid the risk of injury. Whether Town will be interested in listening to offers is another matter but if he’s left out of the squad it could be a hint that the beanpole midfielder is on his way out of the club.
Swansea consider bid for £10m Huddersfield midfielder Philip Billing. @SamWallaceTel reports https://t.co/2yDhUc3BlV
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) July 20, 2017
Will Andy Yiadom play for Barnsley?
Barnsley’s manager, Paul Heckingbottom, described our initial offer to buy Yiadom as disrespectful but there have since been mutterings that we’re going to make an improved bid for the right-back. The report in The Star suggests the offer that got Heckingbottom’s back up was £750k. They think it would take closer to £2m to tempt Barnsley into parting with the Ghanaian international.
Like with Billing, if he’s not in the squad it could be a sign that he’s shortly going to be moving on. He sounds like a decent player and right-back is a position we need cover so it would make sense for Town to try and buy him.
Will the injured players get some game time?
Michael Hefele, Tommy Smith, Nahki Wells and (if he’s back from holiday) Aaron Mooy may all be available after not playing in the friendly against SV Sandhausen. It would be good to see some of last season’s stars back on the pitch but I’d expect it’s more likely to be from the bench if they do feature.
Can Jordan Williams force his way into contention?
Right-back is a problem position at the moment for Town. Tommy Smith has been recovering from injury and Sean Scannell and Martin Craine have received criticism from some fans for their performances in the earlier friendlies. Jordan Williams is only 17, so it may be a bit soon for him, but David Wagner has praised the young right-back in his post-match comments. He may be willing to give him a good run out against Barnsley.
Opposition info: Barnsley
Last match: A 3-1 victory in a friendly against Coventry City on Tuesday night.
There have been some comings and goings at Barnsley this week, with Joe Williams arriving on loan from Everton and Kayden Jackson going to Accrington Stanley. Barnsley have also brought in Zeki Fryers (free), Ethan Pinnock (Forest Green Rovers, undisclosed), and Ike Ugbo (Chelsea, loan).
Barnsley had an excellent first season back in the Championship last season following promotion the year before. They spent long spells in the playoff spots before tailing off towards the end of the season and finishing 9th in the league. Selling key players in the January window seemed to kill their momentum.
Man to watch: Adam Hammill
Adam Hammill left Town on a free transfer two seasons ago and joined up with Barnsley. Last season he played 40 games, scored four goals and provided four assists. Not the most impressive stats, but I remember his aggressive style of play and skill on the ball during his time at Town and think he’ll want to play well against his old club.
Also, watch out for his weird pre-game ritual of spitting water up in the air in a kind of fountain and soaking himself. I never understood why, but he’d do this nearly every time he played when he was at Town.
Barnsley v Town history
In previous meetings Town have beaten Barnsley 31 times, drawn 15, and lost 26. So we’re ahead in the historic head-to-head, not that it means a great deal. Our first meeting came in 1910 (Town won 2-1), and our most recent was a 1-1 draw last February.
The most memorable game against Barnsley in my time of supporting Town was the final game of the 2012/13 season, where both Barnsley and Town were at risk of going down. The live league table had both teams in the relegation zone at different times during the game but the 2-2 scoreline at the end was enough to keep both teams in the division.
The game ended in bizarre fashion when both teams chose not to compete, and instead stopped playing so the score could remain a draw and both teams would have enough to stay up. The celebrations at the end were incredible and it’s worth watching the YouTube video below to relive that day:
Terrier Spirit opinion
Barnsley’s season starts a week before Town’s, so I’d expect them to be one week closer to full match fitness. Having said that, the quality of Town’s players is now higher than Barnsley’s, so we’ll give them a tough time.
I’m going to predict a 3-2 victory to Town, I think our attacking players will create and score plenty of goals but our defence has the potential to let a few in too.
This will be the toughest of all the pre-season games thus far and we can expect a challenge from Barnsley. You are right about a big following for this game – especially from the priority 3s, 4s and 5s. None of them priorities will get a ticket for Palace because of it being the opener, and I’m saying that with certainty. I’m priority 2 and I know I’m in with good chance of a ticket.
Yep, it should be a tough game. I think the extra class our new players bring should be too much for Barnsley though.
The gap in divisions should tell, yes. They do say though that pre-season is just about building up the fitness of the players and what the players could potentially offer when the proper season arrives. Having said this, you do want wins and you don’t turn up to just expect a defeat.
The result was what we were all craving in the end – three wins out of a possible four and many positives from the squad to take from this pre-season so far. Mounie just keep on delivering the goods. He’s worth every penny that Dean Hoyle got of his pocket to pay for him and he’s the striker we’ve been crying out for. If he had been with us last season, his goals would have got us automatic promotion. Him and Ince have been the standout players.
I would not say our business is over – we’ve just slowed down the pace that they’re entering the building. Twists and turns are to come yet, and we cannot say that business is concluded anyway because I know some tweaks still have to happen to fully assemble the picture-perfect squad.