Swansea v Barnsley Preview

Posted on | December 8, 2008 | No Comments

Eight places separate these two sides yet should the Tykes manage an unlikely win, they’ll be trailing Swansea by just three points such is the tightness of the division. Barnsley manager Simon Davey has made no secret of the fact that he holds strong affections for the Swans having been born in Swansea and played for them during the early part of his career. With that, the Tykes boss will be doing all he can to try and get one over on his old club and stop Barnsley’s two game losing streak.

Swansea’s form has been consistent of late, although whether or not Roberto Martinez will be happy with three straight draws is another matter. Coventry, Cardiff and Bristol City have all held the Swans and that has meant they’ve dropped to 10^th, still only two points from the top six nonetheless. However, while victories haven’t exactly been frequent, neither have defeats. A statistic for Jacks fans to boast about is that they’ve lost just three games in their last fourteen, which is highly impressive considering they’ve only just entered this league. While the play offs are not too far away, you’d have to imagine that the majority of the Liberty Stadium faithful would be happy to finish in their current placing though.

As for Barnsley, it’s started going a little South for Simon Davey recently. After a tremendous run that saw them reach 14^th at one point, the Tykes have suffered two straight defeats and with a tough month of fixtures coming up, that’s certainly not good news. Davey claims that his side probably deserved at least a point from both the Nottingham Forest and Reading games although that wasn’t the case and they now find themselves down in 18^th – still six points away from the bottom three. However, with the squad wearing thin with injuries and the like, the Tykes need to start playing out of their skins if they are to overcome the likes of Swansea, Wolves, Burnley and Preston who are all on the December fixture list.

In terms of team news, both clubs have problems. Swansea had a long injury list last week and that’s been extended with Fede Bessone’s hamstring problem. Darren Pratley is another absentee and he’ll miss out through suspension, although Leon Britton is set to return after completing a one match ban. As for Barnsley, their problems run even deeper. The Tykes will be without Anderson De Silva, Diego Leon, Rob Kozluk, Darren Moore and Martin Devaney who are all out injured. What’s more, Simon Whaley’s loan hasn’t been renewed meaning that Simon Davey may have to throw a few youngsters into this squad.

Barnsley have been one of the worst team’s away from home in the past couple of seasons and with Swansea being a difficult side to break down, we can only see a home victory. It won’t be pretty, but we see the Swans scrapping out a 2-0 win in this one.

Related posts:

1. Barnsley v Swansea Preview
2. Barnsley v Swansea Preview
3. Reading v Barnsley Preview
4. Wolves v Barnsley Preview
5. Barnsley v Watford Preview

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