Valerien Ismael takes West Bromwich Albion to Oakwell to face his former team – Barnsley in Friday Night Football in Sky Bet Championship.
Victory would move Barnsley 12 points clear of rock-bottom Derby County, whilst West Brom can move a point off the lead with a win and potentially up to second if they win by six or more goals.
Team News
Cauley Woodrow is a doubt for Barnsley after suffering a knock in last weekend’s loss at Preston.
One unnamed player is in self-isolation and will miss out alongside Cameron Thompson (unspecified) and Aapo Halme (knock).
West Brom will have Grady Diangana back in contention after he missed last weekend’s win against Reading through illness.
Cedric Kipre, Connor Townsend, Semi Ajayi and Matt Clarke (all fitness) are unlikely to be risked following self-isolation after positive Coronavirus tests.
Kenneth Zohore (muscle), Kean Bryan (knee), Robert Snodgrass (back), Matt Phillips (hamstring) and Dara O’Shea (ankle) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Barnsley are unbeaten in their last five league meetings against West Brom (W2, D3).
- West Brom are winless in their last 18 visits to Oakwell (D9, L9).
- Both teams have scored in each of their last five meetings in this fixture.
- Barnsley have won just two of 11 home league matches this season (W2, D3, L6).
- None of Callum Robinson’s three league goals this season for West Brom were scored away from home.
Prediction
Having steadied the ship with improvement in Barnsley’s last three matches, Poya Asbaghi now needs to start encouraging his players to play with more confidence because they are starting to score goals again yet still make defensive errors.
West Brom meanwhile have seemingly broken their rut with two well-executed wins even if they did find themselves having to play with patience at times, especially against Reading last week where they dominated but just lacked that final touch repeatedly.
Now if the Baggies come here and deliver a dominant performance and Barnsley aren’t fine-tuned defensively, this could be a difficult evening for the Tykes yet a glorious one for Valerien Ismael against his former team.
Prediction: Barnsley 0-2 WBA
Result: Barnsley 0-0 WBA
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