More than 140 police will be on the streets of Barnsley as the Reds take on Leeds United on New Year's Day.

Senior officers held a conference on Thursday afternoon to plan the police operation ahead of the highly-anticipated Oakwell clash.

A bumper crowd including more than 6,000 Whites' fans is expected.

Ch Insp Shaun Morley will be in command and said 140 officers will be working before, during and after the match. The game has been classed as 'category C by police', which is the highest risk category and he said it would probably be the biggest police operation this season.

"We are expecting a significant crowd and there will be in excess of 6,000 Leeds fans. There is additional pressure because it is New Year's Eve.

"There are issues around potential disorder and issues relating to public safety due to the volume of people in Barnsley on the day."

He said there was no intelligence to suggest any planned violence, linked to the match, and the kick-off had been brought forward to cut the amount of drinking time before the match.

"Alcohol could play a part," said Ch Insp Morley. "We have moved the kick off forward with the agreement of the FA to 1pm which will mitigate most of the issues."

He said officers would be visiting licensed premises in the town centre before Saturday to discuss the match.