Scunthorpe vs Barnsley Predictions

After two heavy defeats, it’s fair to say that things aren’t going well for Scunthorpe, who’ve just sacked Nick Daws. It took just four league games for the Iron to part company with Nick Daws’ who hadn’t been in the job long, and now the club will be looking for a new boss, one who will steer them in the right direction. First and foremost, Scunthorpe will look to get more competitive when they host Barnsley on Saturday afternoon.

Not only did Scunthorpe lose during the week, but they got embarrassed. Such defeats are not easy to recover from, so it would be no surprise if the Iron delivered another below-par performance on Saturday, especially since they’re facing a Barnsley team who’re already looking like leading contenders for promotion.

Sacking the manager who allowed them to finish inside the top six last season after their form was waning under the previous regime was perhaps a hasty decision, though if things are going wrong, which they clearly are, it’s probably better to act sooner rather than later. That said, facing such a strong team without the stability of knowing who the manager is will be anything but simple.

In terms of their performances, the problems are quite straightforward; Scunthorpe are not creating enough with the ball, while they’re giving too much away off it. Saturday’s hosts are currently fourth from bottom in the expected goals table, while the fact that they’ve scored just three goals in League One this season further suggests that they’re struggling to make their presence felt. What’s more, the hosts have conceded the fourth highest number of shots on target during the current campaign, which doesn’t exactly come as a surprise considering that they’ve shipped ten goals in four matches.

In complete contrast, Barnsley are flying. The visitors are creating lots in the final third, they’re scoring plenty of goals, while they’ve barely had to break a sweat defensively. Daniel Stendel’s men have done such a good job at dominating games, that teams are finding it very hard indeed to land a glove on the Tykes, who come into this match off the back of a confidence-boosting 4-0 win away to Rochdale. If they can replicate that performance, then the visitors will almost certainly secure another three points.

In all honesty, we’re talking about two teams who’re operating at completely different ends of the spectrum at present. Barnsley are looking very strong at both ends of the pitch, while Scunthorpe are floundering both defensively and offensively. With that way things have been going, it’s very difficult to see how an unstable Scunthorpe side are going to stop a Barnsley side that continues to make lightwork of both creating and scoring.

Backing the visitors, who comfortably top the expected goals table at present, to continue their excellent scoring form by netting twice at Glanford Park on Saturday afternoon makes plenty of sense.