The Championship has a full midweek fixture list this week and one of the games sees high flying Nottingham Forest travel to lowly Barnsley. Forest have started the season very well, as was to be expected by them and to be honest, Barnsley have started as expected too. It is thought by many that The Tykes will struggle and so far they have done.
Nottingham Forest will be looking at the top of the table and seeing that they could be there with a win in this one, there is no better place to be than at the top looking down on people. Barnsley however are positioned just one place off the bottom with no points and desperately need a win to give them a bit of confidence. The game takes place at Oakwell on Tuesday night.
Barnsley Form
After a disappointing opening day defeat to Bristol City, Barnsley did at least perform better last weekend, although the result was the same and they lost at home to Ipswich. Bad defending has cost them in both games and during their opening game against Bristol City, they found themselves 3-0 down after just 30 minutes. Defending like that will only send them to one place and that is down to League One.
Things looked a little brighter on Saturday, where they probably should have got something from their game with Ipswich. However, after taking a 1-0 lead, defensive errors again came to haunt them and they eventually lost the game 2-1, much to the disappointment of their boss Paul Heckingbottom.
Nottingham Forest Form
Nottingham Forest have started the season very well, which is no surprise to me, it is exactly what I expected them to do after tipping them up to win on both occasions. Their opening day 1-0 win against Millwall wasn’t the most convincing start to a season, but they showed that they have the ability to grind out a win, something they will probably have to do at Oakwell in this one.
They looked better, especially in attack on Saturday when they travelled to Brentford and came away with all three points in a thrilling 4-3 victory. Forest had many chances to kill the game off when they were 3-1 ahead, but failed to do so, allowing Brentford a chance. However, they again showed they have the ability to win a game and left with all three points.
Team News
Barnsley have made a lot of changes during the summer so are still adjusting and finding out what their best eleven is. Defending has been a real problem for them and in three competitive games so far in the league and cup they have conceded eight goals, far from good enough to stay in the Championship. In attack, To Bradshaw has three goals in his last two games and will be vital for Barnsley’s survival chances, especially if they continue to defend like they have started.
Nottingham Forest new man Andreas Bouchalakis marked his full league debut with two goals on Saturday against Brentford, surely that will be enough for him to keep his place in this one. Elsewhere with Barrie McKay and Zach Clough in attack, Forest have many attacking options and they will really test the Barnsley back line, which has been far from impressive so far.
Top Betting Tips
This game puts together a team who have hit the ground running and one who have really struggled to find their form so far. This is often the case during the early part of the season and because of that it is so hard to back against Nottingham Forest in the game.
I am going to back Forest, I think they have a far superior team to Barnsley and with the way Barnsley are defending right now, I can’t see them stopping the attacking force that Forest have. Nottingham Forest are available at 13/8 with Betfred, a price that offers exceptional value for a team that have started so well and one that I am happy to take.
With a continuation of their good start, it would not surprise me to see Nottingham Forest challenging for a promotion spot later in the season, they have put together a very good and exciting squad who look set to do very well. Barnsley on the other hand are struggling at the moment and really need a change of fortune if they are to get out of the rut that they are currently stuck in.