Third placed Cardiff City look to keep the pace with the top two in the Championship table as they take a trip to Barnsley, who have hit form in recent weeks. Barnsley looked certain to be in a relegation scrap after the first few weeks of the season, but they have turned their form around and pulled themselves clear of the drop zone. They are on a run of four league matches unbeaten, and have lost just once in their last eight. Their most recent fixture was a 1-1 draw at Norwich City at the weekend, and that followed victories over Burton Albion and Birmingham City. This will be a tougher test for the players but they will be confident of picking up a positive result, despite the fact they have won just one of their last five at home. Recent League Form – DWWDLD.
English Championship – Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff – Tuesday 21st November – 19:45 UK Time
|
Draw Best Odd of: 5/2 at Ladbrokes |
|
Barnsley
Cardiff CityCardiff City
Cardiff have emerged as genuine promotion candidates this season, with some brilliant performances. They sit in third place, just two points outside the automatic promotion places and four points off the top. However, their form has been somewhat inconsistent of late. Victory at home to Brentford at the weekend was their third win in five, but they have lost two of their last six and were held to a goalless draw by Millwall. Away from home, they have lost two of their last three and picked up just two wins from the last six. Recent League Form – WLWDWL.
Head to Head
These sides have met nineteen times, since 2001, with Cardiff winning ten times. Barnsley have picked up four victories and there have been five draws. The most recent meeting came in April this year, and ended in a goalless draw. Bore draws are not a patter between these sides though, and the meeting before that was an absolute classic with high drama until the final whistle. Barnsley picked up a 4-3 away victory, thanks to a 95th minute winner. This was after Cardiff had taken an early lead only to see themselves trailing 3-1 at the break, and then fighting back to level the scores up at 3-3 in the 89th minute. Two of the last three meetings have finished level, and Cardiff last picked up a victory over Barnsley in November 2012.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Cardiff are the betting favourites to win this match, but at a price which provides fantastic value. The visitors are at odds of 23/20 with Sky Bet, with Barnsley priced at 23/10 and the draw at 5/2. Obviously, the bookmakers do not see this as a one-sided encounter, and Barnsley have been in good enough form for people to believe they will get something from this match. However, we strongly believe Cardiff will prove too good for their opponents here. So, the 6/5 for an away victory is a great price in our opinion.
Those who fancy Cardiff to win, but are worried about the draw, can use the Double Chance market. The away side to win or draw is priced at 18/5 shorter odds but more chance of making a profit. It’s difficult to predict what type of match we will get when these two meet. There have been goal fest classics, such as the 4-3 mentioned earlier or a 5-3 Cardiff win in 2011, but there have also been plenty of low scoring affairs. It looks like the bookmakers are struggling to figure it out as well, as Over 2.5 Goals is priced at 10/11, with Under 2.5 at odds of 4/5.In saying that, five of the last eight have had at least three goals. So, Over 2.5 Goals would be the percentage bet here. There aren’t many markets for this match that we would risk a bet on, to be honest.
Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip for this match, and the only bet which we are confident in predicting, is Cardiff City to win in the match result market. This is priced at 6/5 with Sky Bet.