The Sky Blues make the trip to Oakwell this weekend, as they look to bounce back from last weeks defeat to Oxford United.
City come up against a Barnsley side who are unbeaten in their previous 19 fixtures, as they look to fight it out for an automatic promotion spot come the end of the season.
Sky Blues boss, Mark Robins is expecting a difficult challenge against the Tykes, who he describes as ‘one of the best’ ahead of the tomorrow’s clash.
He said: “They are a really good side and I think they are probably one of the best sides we have played this season, clearly, they are in second place and unbeaten in 19 or 20 games.
“So, clearly, they are doing something right. From our point of view, it is good game, it was 1-0 last time and that was really hard fought, they missed a couple of chances and we missed some.
“We played pretty well against them and they are probably one of the best teams in terms of pressing, so the German style has been worked on and they are really good at it.
“There will be a big following, big crowd and a big expectation on it, certainly from their support as they see it as they have to win as Sunderland have the games in hand and as they aren’t playing again, they will be thinking they can take advantage of that.
“We watched the game against Walsall last week and they weren’t unlucky not to score, then it looked like it was running out to a 0-0 draw and then Barnsley carry on until the end and managed to get a goal, that’s what happens when you’re in a promotion push.
“Barnsley are one of the sides that spent the most time in the Championship and that is something they are aware of.
“They go about things similar to ourselves, their recruitment was good, and they have looked to bring players in, developing them to sell and then replacing them, so they’ve done really well.”
Heading into the weekend City are currently four points off the top six after Doncaster Rovers beat Bristol Rovers midweek.
With seven games remaining, the Sky Blues will be looking to close that gap as we enter the business end of the season.
Robins knows how far his side of come in just a short period of time to be in a position to be battling for a place in the League One play-offs and he is hoping his side can just continue in the same vein, playing with no pressure.
“There is no pressure on us because from our point of view we are in a process and the process is going pretty well, yes, we would like to be in the play-offs come the end of the season, but also respecting what we are doing and continuing in the same vein.
“Our performances have been pretty good most of the season, we just haven’t been able to get the result our performances have merited.
“From coming off the back of a promotion and how we were last time we were at this level we have come a hell of a long way.
“We have a young squad that are still learning, tomorrow is a test and a good game, but I want it to be an examination of the Barnsley team as well, then it will make for a good afternoon.”