YORKSHIRE rivals Barnsley and Bradford go head-to-head in League One tonight. Mark O’Haire (@MarkOHaire) has a look at the best wagers on the Oakwell meeting.
Barnsley v Bradford | 15.00 | Sky Sports 1
A couple of weeks ago my colleague Chris Graham highlighted the plight of last season’s relegated clubs across the Football League. Eight of the 10 teams to drop down a division were in the bottom-half and Barnsley were one of them.
The Tykes have struggled to adjust to the rigours of League One football and have recorded just four wins from 13 outings in all competitions. Danny Wilson’s men did record a morale-boosting victory at Rochdale last time out but their rotten home form sends alarm bells ringing for Barnsley backers.
The hosts have failed to score in two of their last four and in front of their own fans they’ve lost three of their four fixtures, conceding 10 goals. So the Tykes must improve at both ends if they’re to find some consistent form. But niggling injuries to Dale Jennings and defensive duo Martin Crainie and Peter Ramage won’t have helped their preparation.
Bradford hold an excellent record against their near neighbours – unbeaten in eight and Phil Parkinson’s side will hold no fear when heading south with the Bantams winning three of their unbeaten five away games in 2014/15, leaking just twice!
Immediately the 2/1 from Bet365 stands out on the visitors but star striker James Hanson faces a race against time to be fit. The lanky target-man is the focal point of the Bantams attack, scoring four goals in seven league appearances.
So instead, take the 11/10 from Paddy Power on Bradford in the Draw No Bet market for cover, after all, the last four meetings at Oakwell have ended all square. This means we’ll get our stake back should the fixture end in a draw and only lose out if Barnsley win.
For those looking for something a little different, it’s worth noting that 11/15 Bradford away matches have featured Under 2.5 Goals in the third tier with 8/11 road games also seeing the Half-Time Draw bank. Under 2.5 Goals is 10/11 with BetVictor whilst the half-time stalemate is 6/5 with Bet365.
TOPICS Football League TipsBest Bets
Bradford Draw No Bet (11/10 Paddy Power)
