Derby vs Barnsley Predictions

• Both teams have scored in three of the last four Derby County home Championship fixtures.
• Both teams have scored in five of the last eight Barnsley away league games.
• Barnsley have shown major improvements in recent weeks, winning three of their last four games.

Barnsley are bang in form ahead of Derby trip

Barnsley have found some form and will believe they can go to Pride Park and beat an out-of-sorts Derby County side that have begun to look like they cannot escape their predicament.

The Tykes have won three of their last four games and really announced themselves as a team to be respected with their 3-2 home victory over Middlesbrough last weekend. Poya Asbaghi took time to get acclimatised to Championship footbal, but seems to have hit on a successful formula now – even if it could be too late to save his team from the drop.

Barnsley will go down fighting and this has turned from looking like a winnable game for the Rams to an awkward banana skin that could eventually seal their fate. Wayne Rooney’s side undoubtedly missed captain and top scorer Tom Lawrence during his three game suspension, losing all three and scoring only one goal in 270 minutes of football.

Lawrence’s return boosts BTTS prospects

The Wales international’s return should add some potency to a team that have failed to produce an xG figure above one in his absence. In fact, the pure number of goals that Rooney’s starting line-ups have accounted for of late are incredibly worrying for Rams fans with the eleven he fielded in last week’s 2-1 home loss to Millwall having scored just 12 between them.

That’s why we believe both teams to score has a good chance of landing in this clash. Derby’s defence have shipped 15 goals in their last nine league games, four more than Barnsley have, which is surely a byproduct of Phil Jagielka’s departure in January.

It would be a major surprise if the Tykes, who have kept two away clean sheets in 17 attempts this season, were to record another so BTTS has some value at around evens. A 2-1 away win looks a favourable play in correct score betting. Derby County have won just one of their last five Championship games against Barnsley with the Tykes edging the last encounter 2-1 at Oakwell.