Free betting tips and match preview: Sky Bet Championship - Barnsley v Bristol City
Friday night football comes from Oakwell where Barnsley take on Bristol City and Tom Carnduff has a 20/1 headline tip.
Recommended bets
1pt Pedro Pereira to score anytime at 20/1
1pt Toby Sibbick to complete 4+ tackles at 11/4
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
Barnsley v Bristol City (Sky Sports Football, 1945 GMT)
Friday night football has all the potential to be a game filled with goals as Barnsley welcome Bristol City to Oakwell.
Fans are certainly getting their money's worth in entertainment, if not results, in South Yorkshire this season with six of Barnsley's seven contests at home seeing at least two goals scored.
For the visitors, five of their seven contests on the road have brought three or more goals, with only Luton able to boast games away from home with more.
That's why over 2.5 goals can be found around the 8/13 mark, although there can be a strong case made for taking the 7/4 for four or more goals here.
In a game where the net is expected to be struck on multiple occasions, the goal-scoring markets always provide big appeal and there's a very attractive price of 20/1 available on Pedro Pereira scoring anytime.
A risk, as is any bet, but one worth taking considering his constantly changing position on the right-side of this Bristol City team.
The disparity in the odds reflects this. The 20/1 best price is based on playing in the right-back position, and not a potential wing-back/right midfield role that he has also played in this season.
You could make the same argument for the 10/1 and 12/1 prices also out there. Even if the 20/1 disappears, the value certainly remains at those prices mentioned before.
Pereira netted his first goal in Bristol City colours in that draw with Wigan last time out but the clip above provides interest at the very beginning.
The angle behind the goal shows Pereira arriving later than everyone else into the area. What it doesn't show is the moments before that where he was stood on halfway before Lee Johnson and his coaching staff urged him to get forward.
It could have been the point in the game, with the right-back striking late, but there was still a demand for him to drive forward and join the attack. When he was in the advanced position on the pitch, Pereira struck.
Playing as a wing-back seems to suit the former Benfica man, who recently told Bristol Live of his aspirations to be the next Joao Cancelo or Kyle Walker.
"Inside Benfica I always remember Joao Cancelo," he said.
"I watched a lot of his games and grew older wanting to be like him. And after that I started to grow up and see Kyle Walker at Tottenham.
"I started to like his game - for me, two of the best right-backs in the world. And two of the players I look forward to improving myself to try and be as good as them."
The desire is there for getting further up the pitch, as he has done throughout the course of the campaign.
Bristol City have a preference for attacks down their right side away from home and in a game against an opponent with a weak defence, Pereira can strike again.
The stats-based markets are always intriguing. While shots are the most popular, passes provide good value as do tackles, in the right match, and the latter market is worth further exploration here.
Tykes defender Toby Sibbick has endured a tough start to life in South Yorkshire, rotating between the right-back, centre-back and defensive midfield roles.
He is a player who likes to tackle, it's a strength in his game, and that's reflected in the statistics this season.
The Barnsley man sits joint-ninth for successful tackles, tied with Jonathan Hogg and Mahlon Romeo on 35, although it can be acknowledged that the numbers have dipped in the central defensive role.
However, a contest against a team with plenty of goals to their name, combined with ability in attack, should see a return to the 4/5 tackles per game average he was posting earlier in the season.
Barnsley will likely line-up once again with that three at the back approach, even with their current poor form. An interesting point of this defensive trio is that, while Sibbick is a natural right-back, he's been lining up on the left side of the three.
With attacks coming down Bristol City's right side, as mentioned above, it could be a busy night for the Barnsley defender and 4+ tackles at 11/4 is a bet also worth a small play.
Score prediction: Barnsley 2-2 Bristol City (Sky Bet odds: 11/1)
Best bet: Pedro Pereira to score anytime at 20/1
Opta facts
- The last seven league meetings between Barnsley and Bristol City have produced 33 goals at an average of 4.7 per game.
- Bristol City have scored at least twice in 14 of their last 15 league games against Barnsley (W8 D5 L2), doing so in each of their last seven against them (19 goals).
- Barnsley are winless in 13 league matches (W0 D5 L8), last enduring a longer run between January and April 1959 (15 matches).
- Bristol City have lost just one of their last 14 matches in all competitions (W6 D7 L1), losing 3-0 in their last away Championship game against Luton Town.
- Eight of the last nine goals conceded by Barnsley in the Championship have been scored in the second half.
- Since leaving Barnsley in February 2016, Lee Johnson has faced the Tykes on four occasions – all in the Championship – and lost none of those games (W2 D2 L0).
Last time out
Odds correct at 1230 GMT (30/10/19)
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