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Barnsley will welcome Bolton Wanderers to the Oakwell Stadium for the first leg of their EFL League One playoff semifinal tie on Friday (May 3rd).
The hosts booked their spot in the playoff courtesy of their sixth place finish in the league. Bolton ended the season in third spot having garnered 87 points from 46 games.
The Wanderers' final game of the season came in a thrilling 3-3 draw away to Peterborough. They raced into an early two-goal lead courtesy of Kyle Dempsey and Dion Charles' goals in the fourth and eighth minute respectively. Malik Mothersille scored either side of Joel Randall to give Peterborough a 3-2 lead by the 79th minute. Cameron Jerome drew the game level with eight minutes to go.
Barnsley secured their spot in the playoff with a 1-1 draw at home to Northampton. They took the lead through Herbie Kane but Louis Appere drew the game level deep into injury time.
The winner of this tie will face either Peterborough or Oxford United for a place in the Championship.
Barnsley vs Bolton Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the 50th meeting between the two sides. Bolton have 18 wins to their name, 17 games have ended in a draw while Barnsley have been victorious on 14 occasions.
- Their most recent meeting came in March 2024 when they canceled each other out in a 2-2 draw.
- Barnsley's last seven league games have witnessed goals at both ends.
- Bolton are currently on a seven-game unbeaten run in the league (four draws).
- Barnsley are winless in their last six league games (four losses).
- Four of the last six head-to-head games have seen both sides find the back of the net.
Barnsley vs Bolton Prediction
Barnsley narrowly held on to the final playoff spot to keep their promotion hopes alive. However, they will be entering the playoff in poor form, having not won any game throughout April. They have been entertaining though, with six of their last seven games having produced three goals or more.
Bolton, for their part, were in the running for automatic promotion until the final weeks of the campaign. However, a few indifferent results meant that they had to settle for potential qualification through the playoffs.
We are backing the two sides to leave it all to play for in the second leg with a low-scoring stalemate.
Prediction: Barnsley 1-1 Bolton
Barnsley vs Bolton Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Both teams to score
Tip 3 - Over 2.5 goals - No
