Npower Championship
Venue: Oakwell
Date: Friday, 6 AprilKick-off: 1715 BST
Coverage: Live on BBC1 at 1700 BST; listen on BBC Radio 5 live and BBC local radio;
text commentary on the BBC Sport website
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TEAM NEWS
Barnsley manager Keith Hill has no new injury or suspension problems, but is still without seven first-team players.
Midfielder Nathan Doyle sits out the second game of a three-match ban, while keeper David Button will continue in the absence of Luke Steele (abdomen).
Mark Noble (thigh) will be missing for the Hammers, but boss Sam Allardyce can call on Papa Bouba Diop after his recovery from a hamstring injury.
Defenders Winston Reid (concussion) and Guy Demel (thigh) are also available.
MATCH PREVIEW
Six matches left and under pressure, not the ideal scenario for either club entering the crucially busy Easter period. Barnsley sit 23rd in the current Championship form table and West Ham 15th (taken from their last six matches) so nothing much to inspire supporter confidence as the Tykes look to ensure Championship survival and the Hammers try to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Barnsley do have a nine-point cushion on Bristol City, who hold the final relegation place, but with five of the top nine still to play and a trip to Ashton Gate to take on the Robins later this month, Tykes manager Keith Hill knows there is no room for complacency.
West Ham have won only once in seven league games, a run that has seen them lose their grip on the second automatic promotion place to Reading, a side who beat them 4-2 at Upton Park last Saturday. The Hammers now trail the Royals by four points with only 18 left to play for.
Recent criticism aimed at West Ham is that they have drawn too many matches - not something that can be aimed at Barnsley, who have only shared the points just once in their last 31 league games.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• West Ham have won their previous three matches against Barnsley, including their most recent trip to Oakwell on 9 August 1997. That occasion was Barnsley's opening game of their one and only Premier League season.
• An early header from Papa Bouba Diop proved the difference between the sides when they met at Upton Park just before Christmas. It was West Ham's fifth successive victory over the Tykes in league and cup. The last three have ended 6-0, 3-0 and 2-0.
• It is 22 years since Barnsley last registered a league win over the Hammers, winning 1-0 at Oakwell in the old Second Division in December 1990.
Barnsley
• Nine defeats and just two wins in 12 outings have seen Barnsley slip from 13th to four places and nine points outside the relegation zone.
• The Tykes have not managed a home win against any of the top eight, nor have they kept a clean sheet against a top-half club, home or away.
• Keith Hill's side are one of three clubs (the others are Millwall and Coventry) not to have won from a losing position in the Championship this season.
West Ham United
• Defeat against Reading last time out is West Ham's only loss in their last 12 games, although this run includes seven draws.
• Victory would see West Ham break a club record for number of away wins in a single season. They have won 11 matches to date, which equals a club record set in 1957-58 and 1922-23. They already have more away points than any other club (38), and travel to Oakwell on a five-match unbeaten away run.
• Three points would secure a sixth double of the season, having already recorded home and away victories over Blackpool, Peterborough, Nottingham Forest, Coventry and Portsmouth.
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Friday evening's referee will be Mr. Tony Bates.
Last edited by Admin on Fri Apr 06, 2012 12:56 pm; edited 2 times in total







Tykes