That day (24 February 1996) on-loan striker Brett Angel struck hard and low past Dave Watson to give the Blades a 1-0 win and that is how it finished, since then a further ten meetings later the Blades have failed to beat the Tykes either at Bramall Lane or at Oakwell.
The Blades have been blowing hot & cold recently and I'm sure that the two defeats endured by Plymouth Argyle (1-0) and Stoke City (3-0) at Bramall Lane will not have proven positive in raising the spirits of the home faithful.
However wins on the road at Charlton Athletic (3-0) and Coventry City (1-0) before our clash at Norwich City last Saturday must surely give Unitedites some hope of rattling our Yorkshire rivals who lost at Sheffield Wednesday (2-1) two weeks ago.
Last Saturday the Blades made the trip to Norwich City and were unfortunate not to go away with a point; Ched Evans bundled the ball home as early as the tenth minute for City but the Blades were disallowed a perfectly good goal for offside in the last minute of the game; Matthew Kilgallon heading home Keith Gillespie's cross.
Defender Gary Cahill will make his final appearance for the Blades as his loan spell at Bramall Lane ends soon after this game; he will return to his club Aston Villa and may return in January should Villa agree a further deal.
Midfielder Lee Hendrie came off the substitutes bench at Carrow Road after a long period of absence through fitness; it's likely that he will remain on the bench against Barnsley with Australian David Carney in formidable form. Forward Rob Hulse is pushing for a re-call after being passed it fallowing his broken leg which he sustained last March at Chelsea.
Possible Blades Line-Up: Paddy Kenny, Phil Bardsley, Gary Cahill, Matthew Kilgallon, Gary Naysmith, David Carney, Michael Tonge, Chris Armstrong, Keith Gillespie, James Beattie, Billy Sharp.
Barnsley, led by manager Simon Davey has impressed the critics after finding a top six spot early on in the season, and despite slipping down the table in the last month or so have credited themselves with convincing displays at Ipswich Town (0-0) and a home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers (1-0).
They have already contested a South Yorkshire derby this season, having lost to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough by a single goal scored by Akpo Sodje on 27th November.
Last Saturday the Tykes entertained Neil Warnock's Crystal Palace and both sides scrapped a point as the score line ended 0-0; however they will be without left full-back Dominik Werling who is suspended after picking up his fifth booking against the Eagles.
Barnsley are unlikely to field former Sheffield United defender Rob Kozluk (thigh injury) who has been outstanding for the Oakwell club since he signed for the Tykes this summer since being released by United.
He signed for the Blades in March 1999 from Derby County which involved Jonathan Hunt joining Bramall Lane with Greek defender Vassilis Borbokis (+ cash) going the other way.
Kozzie made his debut some days later in the 3-2 win at Tranmere Rovers and went onto start 215 (+20) appearances in a red and white shirt, helping the Blades reach two domestic cup semi-finals as well as a Play-Off Final in 2003 before winning promotion to the Premier League in 2006.
With Kozluk and Werling unavailable it is likely that Tykes boss Simon Davey will hand a first team debut to Van Homoet - the Dutchman featured on the bench against against Palace but has yet to make an appearance for the Oakwell club since his free transfer from Sparta Rotterdam in the summer.
Possible Tykes Line-Up: Heinz Muller, Stephen Foster, Dennis Souza, Lewin Nyatanga, Marciano Van Homoet, Jamal Campbell-Ryce, Brian Howard, Anderson De Silva, Martin Davaney, Istvan Ferenczi, Jon Maken.
.:: Man in the Middle ::.
Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)
Assistants: B. Sygmuta & G. Scott
Fourth Official: E. Ilderton
- 19.08.2000 - Preston NE 3-0 Blades
- 22.09.2001 - Millwall 2-0 Blades
- 22.12.2001 - Blades 2-2 Rotherham United
- 10.08.2002 - Coventry City 2-1 Blades
- 07.09.2002 - Norwich City 2-3 Blades
- 04.03.2003 - Grimsby Town 1-4 Blades
- 25.01.2004 - Nottingham Forest 0-3 Blades (FAC)
- 29.08.2004 - Blades 2-0 Leeds United
- 01.03.2005 - Blades 0-0 Arsenal (FAC)
- 10.09.2005 - Blades 2-0 Ipswich Town
- 02.12.2006 - Blades 2-1 Charlton Athletic