Our prediction for this match:
Rochdale
Match Time & Date:
14/07/2021
14:00
Prediction: 0-1
Barnsley
Rochdale and Barnsley face each other in an all-English friendly at Crown Oil Arena. Rochdale experienced all sorts of problems at the back in a pre-season friendly against Luton Town (0-4), and, as a result, the bookies see them as underdogs in Wednesday’s clash. The Dale boss Robbie Stockdale is likely to use different sets of players for each half against Barnsley.
The Tykes did well to make it to the Championship playoffs semis last season, but they eventually failed to secure promotion to the Premier League. Several first-team regulars left the club in the summer transfer window, but new signings David Bremang, Daniel Jinadu, and Jason Sraha are likely to make life difficult for the opposition defenders. Anyhow, Barnsley are more of a team than Rochdale, who were anything but impressive in the defeat to Luton Town.
Highlighted Player (Ryan McLaughlin):
Ryan McLaughlin is a Northern Ireland international who plays for Rochdale in the League One as a right-back. McLaughlin started his youth career at Glenavon back in 2009 and two years later he was spotted by Liverpool scouts, who persuaded him to join the Reds youth academy.
However, instead of playing for Liverpool at senior level, the Northern Ireland defender spent two seasons on loan at Barnsley and Aberdeen before moving to Oldham Athletic. After scoring three goals in 52 league appearances for the club, Ryan McLaughlin joined Rochdale in 2019 for an undisclosed fee.
McLaughlin made his League One debut with the Dale on January 26, 2019 in a 2-1 loss at Barnsley. Speaking of his international career, the pacey right-back made his Northern Ireland debut on May 31, 2014 in a friendly against Uruguay. It has to be noted that the Rochdale defender can be used as both left-back and right midfielder as well.
Highlighted Team (Barnsley):
Barnsley are an English club nicknamed the Tykes. The club was founded in 1887 and it has to be noted that they spend more seasons in the Championship than any other club in the history. The Tykes played in the Sheffield and District League from 1890, but in 1895 they were part of the Midland League. Barnsley play their home games at Oakwell, the stadium that was built in 1887.
The capacity of the stadium is 23,009 and it was opened back in 1888, just one year after the club’s foundation. The Tykes made it to the FA Cup final in 1910, but Newcastle United proved to be a big catch for the Oakwell outfit in the title game.
Nonetheless, Barnsley won the FA cup trophy in 1912 and that is considered the club’s biggest success. Barnsley defeated West Bromwich Albion in the two-legged tie (0-0, 1-0) to clinch the prestigious trophy for the first and only time in their history.
