A look at Barnsley's games over the next month.
READING, A, SATURDAY
Barnsley are on dreadful form away from home – with only one win at Doncaster in their last nine league games on the road – and now have some very tricky away fixtures.
After making the long and difficult-looking trips to Reading then Cardiff, they visit three more current top ten sides Bolton, Stevenage and Huddersfield.
It was their excellent record on the road in the last two seasons which kept them away from the bottom four as they suffered at Oakwell. Reading were the form side of the division but lost at Leyton Orient on Saturday. Barnsley will be very keen to build on their last two games which have been positive in different ways.
CARDIFF, A, TUESDAY
The last time Barnsley went to Cardiff, it was the opening day of the 2021/22 Championship season.
The Reds’ previous game had been a play-off semi-final in the second tier, after the remarkable Valerien Ismael campaign, and there was plenty of optimism as fans returned to stadiums in full numbers for the first time after the lockdown. We know the story since then: a pathetic relegation that season then, after coming close to promotion from League One, a slow decline down that division so that they might return to Cardiff in a relegation fight. This is a very hard game against the current leaders who have won their last eight home league matches.
STEVENAGE, H, JANUARY 31
Barnsley have been far stronger at home this season than previous campaigns and will look for their seventh league win there.
It was just over a year ago that Stevenage scored an injury-time winner at Oakwell – one of the results which led to the end of last season’s promotion challenge and Darrell Clarke’s exit. The weekend of this game marks a full year in which the Reds have kept one home clean sheet.
Stevenage have the best defensive record in the division currently, having let in just 23 goals from their first 25 games.
They are winless in seven and have fallen out of the play-off places.
NORTHAMPTON, H, FEBRUARY 3
This match will take place just over 24 hours after the transfer deadline so Barnsley will know their full squad for the season.
The Reds’ 2-2 draw at home with Northampton last season was Hourihane’s final game as a professional footballer – as he realised he could no longer contribute as he wanted to and that he would like to focus on coaching. He will hope there is no pressure on his coaching career by this game which could be massive against a side who slipped into the relegation zone this week.
This is the first of Barnsley’s five rearranged games.
BOLTON A, FEBRUARY 7
This will be the 13th meeting between the sides in less than three and a half years. The gap seems to be growing between the teams who met in the play-offs in 2023 and 2024.
Bolton are currently fifth and have one of the best home records in the division with just seven conceded all season on their own turf in the league.
But Barnsley have a good record there, unbeaten in six and winning their last two including on Boxing Day last season.
STEVENAGE, A, FEBRUARY 10
This will be the second meeting of the two sides in 11 days, because this is another of the rearranged matches.
Stevenage have only conceded six goals at home all season which the best record in the EFL, but have not won there in eight games since October 4.
The Reds have lost both of their games at the Hertfordshire club. Hourihane recently highlighted them as a club with ‘no assets’ due to their older playing squad.
WIMBLEDON, H, FEBRUARY 14
Barnsley’s game at AFC Wimbledon in August was the first major warning sign that their defending this season was going to cost them a lot of points.
The hosts created a series of chances against an extremely open Reds backline and could have won by far more than 2-0.
The newly-promoted London club were fourth after 13 games, just a point off top. They have only won one in 12 and are two points clear of the drop zone ahead of big games this week against Rotherham and Port Vale. This could be a return for Owen Goodman to the club for whom he kept 25 clean sheets last season.
PETERBOROUGH, H, FEBRUARY 17
Peterborough are an example of what Barnsley will be trying to do this season. The Posh were bottom with ten points from 13 games when they sacked veteran boss Darren Ferguson in October. But they are now 12th having won eight out of 13 under Luke Williams.
Two of Barnsley’s three clean sheets this season have been against Peterborough in 1-0 wins in the league in August and FA Cup last month.
HUDDERSFIELD, A, FEBRUARY 21
The Terriers are doing what they have done for most of their time in League One since relegation in 2024 – bounce around the top eight without really challenging for the title in the way they should given their budget. They are currently sixth, seven points clear of the Reds having played five more games. This week, they sacked manager Lee Grant after a four-game winless run in the league and replaced him with former MK Dons, Oxford, Bristol City and Norwich boss Liam Manning.
The Reds have lost their last four games at Huddersfield and their only win in the league there in the last 20 years was in the Covid-19 lockdown with no fans. After this, Barnsley will have their only midweek without a game until late March.
AND THE REST
Feb 28: Leyton Orient, A; March 3: Wycombe, H; March 7: Exeter H; March 10: Cardiff H; March 14: Mansfield A; March 17: Wigan H. March 21: Doncaster H; March 28: Northampton A; April 3: Burton A; April 6: Plymouth H; April 11: Rotherham A; April 14: Port Vale, A; April 18: Bradford H; April 25: Luton A, April 25; May 2: Stockport H.
