“Go down in folklore” - Sheffield Wednesday clash means more to Barnsley - Owls must be at their best

The Tykes have been in rampant form in recent weeks, particularly at home where they have won five matches on the bounce. Wednesday arrive unbeaten in 23 league matches unbeaten - half a season, incredibly.

But injury worries hang over key men and Barnsley gave perhaps the best performance seen against the Owls earlier this season. Setting their aims at a late jump into the top two, Michael Duff’s players will be bang up for the occasion.

Indeed, the clash will be the biggest Oakwell crowd of the season so far, with the Tykes having confirmed a sell-out on Monday evening.

Even the most ardent Tykes supporter would admit the clash is more keenly anticipated by the Barnsley fanbase - and given the high-flying nature of both sides at current, the atmosphere is set to be white-hot.

A league double over Wednesday would provide Barnsley with ‘a little piece of history’, Duff claimed. On current form, they have every chance.

“Hopefully on Tuesday night, in front of the TV cameras, we can put on a good show and showcase the league with two good teams going at it,” Duff told BBC Radio Sheffield this week.

“They’re the games you want to play in. You can make yourself a hero and go down in folklore in certain parts of the country. If someone can go and get a winner and we do the double over them, it will go down in a little piece of history.

“We went there (to Hillsborough) with not a lot of expectation, while there might be a bit more expectation from our support base now, but everyone at the football club is looking forward to it, from top to bottom.”

Describing Wednesday as Barnsley’s ‘local rivals’, the former Cheltenham boss refused to play down the importance of the occasion.

“There are local bragging rights and all that, so we are not stupid and not trying to play it down,” Duff added.

“It’s a full house against your local rivals. There are only three teams above us, and they’re one of them, so if you want to get higher up the league you have to try to beat the teams above you.

“The players don’t need to be told the significance of the game. If they’re naive or been living in a cave for the last three days, they’ll turn up at the ground and there will be a buzz, a hum. You can feel it, that energy when you turn up.”