Hignett is expecting mixed reception

Barnsley supporters will see a familiar face in the Blackburn team during tonight's match at Oakwell - their former striker Craig Hignett, who joined Graeme Souness's side during the close season.

Barnsley supporters will see a familiar face in the Blackburn team during tonight's match at Oakwell - their former striker Craig Hignett, who joined Graeme Souness's side during the close season.

The 30-year-old, who moved from Oakwell to Ewood Park for £2.25m, scored his first Blackburn goal on Saturday to win the match against Stockport.

"This is a fixture I've had my eye on since the season started," Hignett said. "I have a lot of friends at Barnsley, and they have been sending me messages all week. I am sure I will get a mixed reception."

The former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel has joined Blackburn on a free transfer, but Souness is almost certain to start with John Filan.

"Brad comes here as our number one, and the rest is up to him," Souness said. "The other goalkeepers here may feel hard done to because they haven't done anything wrong, but managers are paid to make difficult decisions."

Striker Matt Jansen, who missed Blackburn's last few games with an ankle injury, is back in the squad but, as with Friedel, he is likely to be among the substitutes.

Stuart Ripley begins his one-month loan from Southampton by going straight into Barnsley's team, joining fellow loan signing Neil Maddison in the starting line-up.

Barnsley will be aiming to make up for Sunday's 1-0 home defeat by Wimbledon. They welcome back two former players in Hignett and John Curtis. Coach Eric Winstanley said: "They were two very good players, who did well for us. John got his career back on track, and Craig can easily be a Premiership player. But the most important thing for us is to start a winning run and make their return to Oakwell an unhappy one."

Nottingham Forest's match with bottom-placed Huddersfield Town tonight has been postponed for safety reasons because of the threat of the River Trent bursting its banks. However, there is some good news for Forest manager David Platt, with Colin Calderwood and Stern John expected to be pushing for first-team places in the near future.

Huddersfield manager Lou Macari is hoping to hold on to on-loan defender Rob Kozluk for longer. The Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock has allowed an extension, providing that no other clubs are interested in the player.