Barnsley v Bournemouth: Championship predictions, betting preview, free tips, TV

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Barnsley v Bournemouth in the Championship on Friday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football, 5.30pm Friday

Best bet

Barnsley or draw double chance
1pt 5-6 Betway

Team news

Barnsley
Ben Williams (knee) and Jordan Green (ankle) are out long-term.

Bournemouth
Jefferson Lerma serves a one-match ban and Jack Stacey (knee) misses out. Joshua King has finished a period of self-isolation and could come into contention and Arnaut Danjuma (hamstring) is a doubt.

Match preview

Bournemouth have registered just two wins in seven games on their Championship travels and they may struggle to avoid dropping more points when taking on improving Barnsley at Oakwell.

It is not a major surprise to see Bournemouth in the thick of the promotion race but, like every other team in the second tier, they are struggling to achieve consistency.

The Cherries climbed into the top two after a three-match winning sequence either side of the November international break, but a couple of reality checks soon followed with last Saturday's 2-2 draw at Rotherham and Tuesday's shock 3-2 loss at home to injury-hit Preston.

Jason Tindall's men were odds-on to win both of those games and look poor-value favourites to defeat Barnsley, who have risen to 13th after winning five of their last eight matches.

The early weeks of the season were tricky for the Tykes, who were playing for a manager, Gerhard Struber, who was constantly being linked with a move away from the club.

When Struber's move to New York Red Bulls was rubber-stamped in early October, Barnsley were fourth from bottom with one point from four games.

In the next 11 games Barnsley collected 18 points and they may be starting to think of doing more than battling to steer clear of relegation.

To Struber's credit he left behind a strong squad who were committed to a high-intensity, attack-minded style of football.

And those principles have been retained by new boss Valerien Ismael, who has focused on the fine details to get Barnsley moving up the table.

Ismael's side have conceded just four goals in their last five matches and they have a nice balance in attack with five-goal top scorer Cauley Woodrow providing the focal point and wide attackers Conor Chaplin and Victor Adeboyejo offering plenty of skill and pace.

It is a recipe which could see Barnsley continuing to progress and should ensure they are competitive against a Bournemouth side growing increasingly frustrated.

The Cherries wasted a glorious chance on Tuesday because opponents Preston were stretched by injuries and low on confidence after a 4-1 loss at Watford.

But they were chasing the game from the 16th minute after conceding from a slick counter-attack and they fell three goals behind before a fightback which came far too late.

Tindall may ponder a few changes but at least one will be enforced with key midfielder Jefferson Lerma serving a one-game ban.

His attacking options could be significantly boosted if Joshua King (Covid-19) and Arnaut Danjuma (hamstring) are ready to return but Bournemouth have been expensive to follow in recent games and their sticky spell may continue.