Derby vs Barnsley Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Derby will be glad to see the back of February, after enduring a miserable month that has perhaps ended their chances of reaching the play-offs. A lack of goals has again been a problem and with Barnsley adopting a more cautious approach now, this looks like it will be a low-scoring game.

Trying to make sense of Derby this season is quite difficult. In Darren Bent and Tom Ince they’ve had two of the most dangerous attacking players in the league, certainly over the past few months, and for large chunks of the season they’ve been very solid defensively. However, they’ve really struggled to perform well at both ends of the pitch on the same day.

Derby have kept a clean sheet in an excellent 65% of their home games and 47% of their league games overall. That suggests Barnsley will have a hard time breaking them down. However, the Rams have also failed to score in 41% of their home matches and 44% of their games overall. That includes their last 3 league outings which have ended in a 0-0 draw and two 1-0 defeats.

Therefore, the omens aren’t exactly good for a game packed full of drama at Pride Park here. Barnsley will see a draw as a good result and may copy the approach of the likes of Burton and Wigan, who have frustrated Derby into 0-0 draws in the East Midlands in recent months. The Tykes aren’t looking as dangerous going forward following some key departures in January. They failed to score in 3 of their 5 games in February, which suggests they will have a hard time breaking down a Derby side that has the best defensive record outside the top two.

However, Barnsley only conceded 4 goals in those 5 matches and are still grinding out results so they should be able to provide Derby with significant resistance here and backing Under 2.5 Match Goals at 4/5 looks to offer the best value.