Bolton vs Barnsley betting tips, BuildABet, best bets and preview
Football betting tips: League One
2pts Barnsley 5+ corners at 5/4 (bet365)
0.5pt Barnsley 10+ corners at 25/1 (Betfair, Paddy Power)
BuildABet @ 25/1
- Barnsley 5+ corners
- Josh Dacres-Cogley to commit 2+ fouls
- Adam Phillips to score anytime
Kick-off time: 20:00 BST, Tuesday
TV channel: Sky Sports Main Event
Home 4/6 | Draw 16/5 | Away 16/5
Agg. score: Bolton 3-1 Barnsley
Trailing by two goals going into an away second leg and odds of 16/1 to reach the final - it's fair to say a comeback from Barnsley is not expected as they go to Bolton on Tuesday night.
The Tykes were well beaten in front of their own supporters on Friday night. Bolton should have been clear prior to Randell Williams finding the net straight from a corner in the final moments.
Some may point to Sheffield Wednesday's remarkable turnaround from 4-0 down to Peterborough last season - and of course Barnsley have a chance - but we should expect Bolton's presence at Wembley in a couple of weeks time.
What are the best bets?
Barnsley have absolutely nothing to lose at this stage but we shouldn't expect Bolton to just sit back and try to protect what they have.
There's a real chance this is another high scorer, and Bolton grabbing that first goal will kill any of the small hope that Martin Devaney's side may be bringing across with them.
They have to attack though, making BARNSLEY 5+ CORNERS the play.
The corner count hit 11 in the first leg with Barnsley taking six of them. This time around though, we are focusing purely on the game state of the tie overall.
A HUGE GOAL
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) May 3, 2024
Sam Cosgrove puts Barnsley back in the Play-Off Semi-Final! 👊 pic.twitter.com/HPH2fWAAtR
Four of Barnsley's six corners came after Bolton had made it two, with the opponents also taking five as they looked to add to their tally.
The line is again set at 11 for the overall corner count in the game, which is still decent if you'd rather not attach it to one team, but the emphasis is on the visitors to find a way through.
It should lead to the ball being deflected behind on a few occasions, with the requirement for five corners low enough to attract some interest.
And in case it does become a real desperate chase - or there is a stage where Barnsley are pushing for an equaliser - I'll gamble on the 25/1 for BARNSLEY 10+ CORNERS.
This is an absolutely massive line of course but the game could well be set up for it. MK Dons took 18 when trying to overturn a two-goal deficit to Wycombe in 2022, Wednesday had 12 in that remarkable comeback last season, so recent history shows it has been possible.
Team news
It's expected to largely be more of the same from Friday night in terms of player availability for both sides.
Bolton are still without forwards Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Carlos Mendes Gomes through injury, and Ian Evatt is likely to go with the same XI which got the job done in the first leg.
Sam Cosgrove's goal from the bench may see him involved from the off this time around.
Defender Donovan Pines is still unavailable - he's been unable to feature since injury when these two met in the league in March.
Predicted line-ups
Bolton XI: Baxter; Jones, Santos, Toal; Sheehan; Dacres-Cogley, Maghoma, Thomason, Williams; Charles, Collins.
Barnsley XI: Roberts; Williams, de Gevigney, Earl; Connell; O'Keeffe, Phillips, Kane, Cadden; McAtee, Cosgrove.
Match facts
- Bolton have lost only two of their last 21 games in all competitions against Barnsley (W8 D11), with both defeats being by a one-goal margin in November 2022 (2-1) and May 2023 (1-0).
- Barnsley are unbeaten in their last five trips to Bolton in all competitions (W1 D4), though they haven’t won there by a two-goal margin since October 1982 in the second tier (2-0).
- Both Bolton (6 goals) and Barnsley (4 goals) have scored in all three meetings so far this season, after only doing so twice in their five encounters last term.
- Following their 3-1 win in the first leg, Bolton won the first leg of a Football League play off semi-final for just the second time, previously doing so against Ipswich in May 1999; they progressed to the final that season. Barnsley meanwhile lost the first leg for a third time, previously doing so in May 2006 when they won promotion to the Championship, and in May 2021 to Swansea.
- Bolton’s Dion Charles has scored at least 20 goals for a Football League club in three of last four seasons in all competitions, while he could score in three successive games for the Trotters for the first time since September 2023 (run of four).
- In League One this season (excluding play-offs), Barnsley scored more away goals than any other side (44), as well as boasting the second-highest shot conversion rate (13.9%) on the road behind Wigan (14.4%). Indeed, in John McAtee (10), the Tykes had the joint-highest goalscorer in away games for the competition in 2023-24.
Odds correct at 1450 BST (06/05/24)
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