A lot of people talk about a club’s ‘history’ or the amount of ‘respect’ they’ve gained by being great in the 60’s and 70’s, and therefore any game against lower level opponents should be considered an easy win. As we’ve seen this season thus far, lower leagues teams should not be underestimated and have more than enough talent to not only win, but win on the road and win big matches. Ask Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Villa, Norwich and QPR (thus far) what happens when you take league position for granted. So far, eight Premier League teams have lost out to lower leagues opponents in the FA Cup, with a League Two team fighting for the League Cup next weekend. City would be wise to spend as much time as possibly preparing for this match up, as Barnsley may be a Championship side, but they are currently battling relegation and will be desperate to put a gold star on the season and add a Premier League scalp.
If you are one to put stock in history between clubs, hopefully you’ll be rooting for the home team, as these two teams have met a total of 32 times in the league and cup competitions, with City winning 16 of those games, Barnsley winning 6, and the two teams finishing level 10 times. Barnsley has lost both FA Cup fixtures against City, in 1948 and 1993, giving up two goals in each game, while only managing one goal total. Barnsley and City have met twice in the League Cup, with the 7-1 victory for City in 2004 being the last time these two clubs met. Overall, City have scored 73 goals while Barnsley have scored 33, with 42 of City’s goals coming at home (the 7 goals in the League Cup helped to pad that statistic). Most worrying for the away fans will be the fact that Barnsley has only managed to win two games in Manchester in 17 attempts.
This would appear to be an easy win for City looking to move into the Semi-Finals of the FA Cup for the second time in three seasons. Barnsley could easily give up on the game and focus on remaining in the Championship. However, City could have that mentality and lose on a counter-attack after Barnsley plays magnificent defense and take their chances. City could also come out and put things to bed early with a few quick goals and stellar play. Do we see Typical City against Barnsley, or do we see The Champions look for another trophy to add to the recent collection? For our sake, let’s hope it’s the latter, however I am sure the Barnsley players will make their fans proud, and the fans will do likewise. The glory of the cup is in full effect, and continues in a few weeks time.
UPCOMING FIXTURES:
all times East Manchester
Su 24Feb 13h30 Chelsea, The Etihad, PL
Mo 04Mar 20h00 Aston Villa, Villa Park, PL
Sa 09Mar 17h30 Barnsley, The Etihad, FACQF
Sa 16Mar 12h45 Everton, Goodison Park, PL
Sa 30Mar 15h00 Newcastle, The Etihad, PL
Mo 08Apr 20h00 The Rags, The Swamp, PL
Mo 15 Apr 20h00 West Brom, The Etihad, PL
Su 21 Apr 13h30 Spurs, White Hart Lane, PL
Sa 27 Apr 12h45 West Ham United, The Etihad, PL
Sa 04 May 15h00 Swansea, The Liberty Stadium, PL
Su 12 May 15h00 Reading, The Madejski Stadium, PL
Su 19 May 16h00 Norwich City, The Etihad, PL
City vs Wigan To Be Rearranged
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