An in-depth look at the season opener.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Barnsley (4-3-3): Cooper; de Gevigney, Roberts, Shepherd, Earl; Phillips, Connell, Russell; Keillor-Dunn, McGoldrick, Vickers
Plymouth (4-3-3): Ashby-Hammond; Edwards, Palsson, Szucs, Galloway; Ibrahim, Wiredu, Watts; Mumba, Pepple, Amaechi
TEAM NEWS
Barnsley: Doubts: Jackson Smith. Out injured: Georgie Gent, Fabio Jalo. Ineligible: Nathanael Ogbeta.
Plymouth: Out injured: Conor Hazard, Jack MacKenzie.
KEY PLAYER
Xavier Amaechi
Argyle have had some gifted players wear their number ten shirt in recent years, such as Graham Carey and Morgan Whittaker.
Now that number has been handed to Amaechi, a graduate of Arsenal’s academy who has spent most of the last six years at German clubs Hamburg, Karlsruhe and, most recently, FC Magdeburg.
After joining the Pilgrims on a three-year contract, there are high hopes the 24-year-old can be a real attacking threat for them in League One with goals and assists.
Their pacy wingers such as Amaechi, Bali Mumba – who gave Jordan Williams a torrid time in this fixture three years ago – and Freddie Issaka could be a test for Barnsley’s full-backs who are likely to be converted centre-backs Mael de Gevigney and Josh Earl, unless Neil Farrugia plays on the left.
In general, Plymouth’s probable line-up looks to be filled with powerful, athletic and physical players, with pace in attacking areas.
That may be a real challenge for the Reds who will have to match their hosts in that regard to let their attacking potential flourish.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Chris Errington, Plymouth Live
It has been a summer of considerable change at Argyle after relegation from the Championship.
Former Watford boss Tom Cleverley has come in after Miron Muslic left to take over at German side Schalke.
A whole host of players have moved on, including long-serving fan favourites Ryan Hardie and Adam Randell and club record signing Maksym Talovierov, while ten new signings (as of July 29) have been brought in, so it will take time for things to settle down.
There has been clear evidence of that in pre-season where the performances and results have been somewhat mixed.
The suspicion is they will get better as the season goes on and their aim will be to at least finish in the top six.
REFEREE
Declan Bourne
The official had two fairly incident-packed games involving Barnsley last season.
In a 1-1 home draw with Stockport in September, he awarded the Reds an early penalty for a foul on Davis Keillor-Dunn which Adam Phillips converted but then missed a blatant foul in front of goal on Kyran Lofthouse in injury-time.
Bourne also showed Mael de Gevigney a straight red card for a foul late on in a 2-1 win at Northampton in February, having sent off Liam Kitching at Cambridge in 2022.
In total, his six Reds games have seen them win four, draw one and lose one.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Pilgrims 1, Reds 1 – December 26, 1990
After a brutally long trip for a Boxing Day fixture, Barnsley fell behind early in extremely windy conditions. But they levelled on 85 minutes when Andy Rammell headed in from Mark Smith’s cross.
Pilgrims 1, Reds 1 – March 1, 2003
Having been beaten by Graham Coughlan for the opening goal, Bruce Dyer levelled for Glynn Hodges’ visitors.
Pilgrims 2, Reds 4 – March 14, 2007
A huge win for Barnsley as they avoided an immediate return to League One. After conceding a long-range opener to Lilian Nalis, Lewin Nyatanga headed in and Martin Devaney volleyed the visitors in front. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake made it 2-2 but Devaney scored again, from outside the box, then Istvan Ferenczi secured the win.
Pilgrims 0, Reds 0 – March 30, 2010
The famous replayed match after Barnsley were 4-1 up earlier in the season when rain stopped play. Goalkeepers David Stockdale and Luke Steele starred in this midweek clash, with Barnsley reaching the 50-point mark on their way to safety.
Pilgrims 1, Reds 0 – July 30, 2022
Michael Duff’s first game in charge saw his side lose thanks to a Finn Azaz goal just before the break. The hosts, who would win the title, were the better team but Barnsley hit the crossbar, had two shots cleared off the line and a strong shout for a penalty on Jack Aitchison.
