Burton Albion return to Oakwell today (7.45pm) for the first time since they defied the odds and secured their Championship status there in the penultimate game of last season.

The Brewers came away from south Yorkshire with the point they needed to avoid relegation following a nervy 1-1 draw in April 2017.

Albion fans may well be hoping for more than that this time around in this relegation six-pointer.

But last year, that was all the travelling Burton masses needed to see - although it did not all go to plan.

Nigel Clough celebrates Burton Albion staying in the Championship at Barnsley

Barnsley opened the scoring through George Moncur in the 38th minute following a poor clearance from Brewers skipper John Mousinho.

Yet only seven minutes after the break, Nigel Clough's side responded brilliantly, Luke Varney powering home a header from Lasse Vigen Christensen's corner.

It was and remains to this date Varney's first and only League goal for the Brewers. They do not come much bigger.

The importance of the strike was highlighted by the team's passionate celebration, with the ex-Derby County man jumping over the advertising hoardings and racing towards the crowd, unable to hide his delight.

Stephen Bywater had pulled off a quite superb reaction save to deny Angus MacDonald moments before, and Burton were largely solid thereafter to get the job done.

Luke Varney of Burton Albion
Luke Varney of Burton Albion

The draw at Barnsley left Clough's men in 19th place and out of reach of the relegation zone with one game to spare, meaning the 4-2 final-day defeat to Reading was little more than a party at the Pirelli.

After the match, Clough hailed the club escaping from relegation as their "greatest achievement".

He added: "To get 52 points and survive is a bigger achievement than actually reaching the Championship. We have had to play the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday, week in, week out, so there are no easy games."

The Brewers will now hope for some more positive memories from their latest trip to Oakwell.