Brentford vs Barnsley
Saturday 22 October Griffin Park Sky Bet Championship Kick-off: 3pm
The Opponents
The Tykes propped up Sky Bet League One last December but by May were celebrating promotion back to the second tier after an incredible finish to the campaign. After that Play-Off final victory at Wembley it was a quiet summer in South Yorkshire as Tom Bradshaw [Walsall] was the only new face to arrive permanently in July. However, Bradshaw was joined through the gates at Oakwell later on in the window by Angus MacDonald [Torquay], Aidan White [Rotherham United], Sessi D'Almeida [Paris St Germain], Nick Townsend [Birmingham City], and Cole Kpekawa [QPR]. The major departure from Barnsley in the summer was former Bees youngster Alfie Mawson who joined Premier League side Swansea for a reported £5 million.
Life back in the second tier started well for Barnsley as they took nine points from their opening five games. That start didn't however stop them raiding the loan market as the transfer deadline approached with Julio Cesar Rodriguez Lopez [Sporting Gijon], Saidy Janko [Celtic], Sam Morsy [Wigan Athletic], Ryan Kent [Liverpool], Kayden Jackson [Wrexham], and Adam Armstrong [Newcastle United] all beat the window's closing to join. Barnsley's good form showed no signs of stopping as they put six past Preston North End and Wolverhampton Wanderers away after the break to sit third after seven games. That was as good as it got as The Tykes head to Griffin Park this weekend on the back of five defeats in six winless games which has seen them drop to 15th in the table.
The Manager
Paul Heckingbottom led Barnsley to the League One double last season, picking up promotion via the Play-Offs as well as the EFL Trophy. May's Wembley win saw Heckingbottom pick up his third promotion from the third tier via the Play-Offs. His first two came as a player with Sheffield Wednesday in 2005 and then a year later with Barnsley, the first of those at the expenses of Martin Allen's Bees. Those promotions were the high points in a 15 year playing career which also took in spells with Sunderland, Hartlepool United, Darlington, Norwich City, Bradford City, Mansfield Town and Gateshead.
After calling time on his playing career Heckingbottom was appointed the Head of Football Academy at Barnsley College before becoming Barnsley's Under-21 Head Coach in August 2012. Following the sacking of Danny Wilson in February 2015 Heckingbottom took temporary charge of The Tykes for a three game period before returning to his Academy role. After replacing Lee Johnson in February he became the first Barnsley manager in 104 years to lift a major trophy after their JP Trophy win in April and followed that up with Play-Off victory a month later before being awarded the job full-time in the summer.
The Match Officials
Referee: James Linington Assistant Referees: Timothy Wood and Daniel Leach Fourth Official: Michael Webb
Ticket news
Tickets for tomorrow's match will be on General Sale right up until kick-off online. They will also be available in person from the Braemar Road Ticket Office from 12pm until kick-off.
Travel News
Directions on how to get to Griffin Park and matchday parking arrangements can be found here.
Match Betting
Principal partners 888sport offer the latest odds on tomorrow's meeting. Brentford 17/20 Barnsley 33/10 Draw 13/5 Join Club Sponsors 888sport today and get industry leading odds on a range of sports markets!
Match Coverage
You can hear live match commentary on Bees Player from 2.30pm tomorrow, with Mark Burridge and Alan Denman.
There will be live match updates on Twitter from 2pm.