Nottingham Forest have few happy memories of Oakwell from recent visits.
Their last trip to Barnsley, little more than two months ago, should have been a fresh start; a chance to kick off the season how they meant to go on.
Instead it was more of the same; a continuation of what had gone before.
It was tempting at the time to brush off that 1-0 defeat back in September as *just* a cup game. It didn’t count for much, it was unlikely to be the team which started most of the league matches, it was the first game back, and so forth.
Looking back now, though, it was perhaps a sign that getting over the heartache of the previous campaign was not going to be as easy as the Reds had hoped.
The Tykes had also played a key role in that collapse under Sabri Lamouchi.
It was the final day against Stoke City which put the nail in the coffin for Forest’s top six hopes, but arguably the match which preceded it - again, a 1-0 loss at Oakwell - was just as damaging.
It is in that context which Chris Hughton and his side travel to south Yorkshire on Saturday.
This is a big game for them.
Indeed, it is a big few weeks.
The Reds face a run of fixtures which could prove crucial in their bid to challenge at the top end of the table, and which will test their top six credentials.
Banishing their Barnsley demons can be a huge part of that.
They are a decent side, but if Forest do have promotion ambitions, this is the type of match they could do with winning.
After that, they then take on five of the current top six in Bournemouth, Swansea City, Watford, Reading and Norwich City.
That’s a tough run building up to the important festive period.
But it is also a real chance to put down a marker and to show that this team is better than their current position suggests.
