Sports Mole previews Friday’s League One clash between Barnsley and Bolton Wanderers, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
For the second year in a row, Barnsley will face Bolton Wanderers in the semi-finals of the League One playoffs.
After finishing in sixth position, Barnsley will welcome their third-placed opponents to Oakwell for Friday’s first leg.
Match preview
Barnsley head into the playoffs with an interim boss after Neill Collins was dismissed following a dismal run of form, consisting of two wins in 11 matches (D3, L6)
Collins lost four of his last five matches, including a 3-2 defeat in his final game against Blackpool before being replaced by caretaker manager Martin Devaney.
The 43-year-old looked set to oversee a win when Herbie Kane opened the scoring in last Saturday’s home game against Northampton Town.
However, Louis Appere netted a dramatic 96th-minute equaliser to drop the Tykes down from fifth to sixth place on the final day of the season.
The Tykes may be winless in six games, but they managed to beat Bolton 2-1 on aggregate in last season’s playoff semi-finals, before losing the final to Sheffield Wednesday on penalties.
Barnsley will hope to learn their lessons from their two previous head-to-head meetings this season after they gave up a narrow lead in February’s away clash, before spurning a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 at Oakwell last month.
Bolton went into the final day of the season with an outside chance of achieving promotion, but they ultimately finished five points adrift of second-placed Derby County after playing out an exciting 3-3 draw with Peterborough United.
Kyle Dempsey and Dion Charles scored in the opening 10 minutes, before Peterborough mounted a remarkable fightback to score three goals in the second period to leave Bolton on the brink of defeat.
However, Cameron Jerome came off the bench to score in a third consecutive game and salvaged a point for the Trotters, extending their unbeaten run to seven matches (W3, D4).
Although they have proven to be a tough team to beat, Bolton have had to settle for draws in three of their previous four matches.
While a draw in Friday’s away leg would represent a satisfactory result, the visitors will be desperate to end a four-game winless run in head-to-head meetings with Barnsley (D3, L1).
Ian Evatt’s side scored 82 league goals to finish the season as the division’s second-highest scorers, and they will try to put that firepower to good use against a Barnsley side that has struggled defensively in recent weeks.
Barnsley League One form:
Bolton Wanderers League One form:
Team News
The hosts are likely to be without the services of Robbie Cundy, Donovan Pines, Josh Benson and Jon Russell due to injury.
Luca Connell is set to retain his place after he returned from a three-game injury absence to play the duration of Barnsley’s draw with Northampton.
Devante Cole and John McAtee scored 30 league goals between them this season, and the pair are set to resume their forward partnership for Friday’s first leg.
As for the Trotters, they are unable to call upon the injured duo of Carlos Mendes Gomes and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, while Victor Adeboyejo is a doubt after missing the last nine matches.
Paris Maghoma sat out the 3-3 draw with Peterborough, but the midfielder is expected to be ready for the trip to Oakwell.
Nathaniel Ogbeta could be brought into the starting lineup after coming off the bench to provide the assist for Bolton’s third goal against Posh.
Barnsley possible starting lineup:
Roberts; Williams, De Gevigney, Earl; O’Keeffe, Phillips, Connell, Kane, Cadden; McAtee, Cole
Bolton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Jones, Santos, Toal; Dacres-Cogley, Thomason, Sheehan, Maghoma, Ogbeta; Charles, Collins
We say: Barnsley 1-1 Bolton Wanderers
Barnsley and Bolton played out draws in their two head-to-head meetings this season, and we think that there could be a similar result on Friday, especially as the Tykes have drawn their last two home games, while the Trotters have seen four of their previous six away games finish all square.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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