Barnsley vs Middlesbrough Predictions

• The highest scoring half was the second in three of the last four Middlesbrough away league games.
• The highest scoring half was the second in the last two Barnsley home games.
• There have been no first half goals in three of the last four Barnsley home games and three of the last five Boro road trips.

Midweek wins might make for slow-burner

Both Barnsley and Middlesbrough chalked up important league wins in midweek, but Saturday’s clash between the two could suffer as a consequence. Poya Asbaghi picked up his first away win as Tykes boss with a 2-0 victory at Hull City that owed as much to the Tigers’ troubles as it did to any roots of recovery from the south Yorkshire strugglers.

Chris Wilder kept Boro’s promotion push on track with a key second half double substitution that inspired his team to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over West Brom. The win and clean sheet should boost Barnsley’s confidence for this game and it’s clear there has been a big improvement in defence there over the past month. The Tykes have only conceded more than once in one of their last seven matches and blanked opponents in two of their last three.

We’re not sure if they’re yet ready to resist the Teessiders, who have scored in seven of their lats nine away trips and can welcome top scorer Matt Crooks back from a one-match suspension. Boro can burst into life when Wilder waves his wand – as he did on Tuesday when switching Marcus Tavernier to the left as he brought on two strikers ten minutes into the second half.

Boro’s recent away results remain unconvincing

Isaiah Jones still looks fresh as a daisy and ready to run any full back he comes up against, so Barnsley will have their hands full on Saturday. That’s why we ultimately believe the visitors will come out on top after a real struggle at Oakwell, taking them to emerge with a 1-0 win.

Boro’s dodgy recent away results do make their match result odds look less appealing than a similarly-priced play on the second half to contain more goals than the first. The highest scoring half was the second in three of the last four Middlesbrough away league games and also the last two Barnsley home games.

The amount of effort both sides expended in midweek could also lead to a lukewarm opening stanza on Saturday while, to give further encouragement to the bet, three of the last four Barnsley home games and three of the last five Boro road trips have been goalless at the break.