Barnsley v Bournemouth Betting Tips [29 January 2022]

Matchday 29 of the Championship sees Barnsley continue their disastrous season as they host a Bournemouth team competing for automatic promotion back to the Premier League after suffering relegation in 2019-20. The visitors currently sit third in the table with 49 points and trail second place Blackburn by three points. Bournemouth have hit a bit of a speed bump in recent weeks, who at one point were top of the Championship table. The Cherries have now lost consecutive matches and four of their last six in the league, the last being an extremely disappointing 1-0 home loss to 19th place Hull City. Scott Parker’s side is presented with a golden chance to bounce back with a victory against the worst team in the division. Barnsley sit rock bottom of the table with only 14 points and trail safety by eight points. Things are looking grim for the Tykes and they have now gone 10 matches without a league win, losing seven and drawing three. Their last match was a heavy 3-0 away defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Bournemouth come into this match as rightful favorites on the road. Things have been bad for Barnsley this season and their home record of 2-4-6 doesn’t inspire much confidence. The visitors have been strong away from home this season with a record of 7-4-3 and sport an impressive goal differential of +7 while keeping eight clean sheets. We’re going to focus here on both teams' first half performances so far this season. Bournemouth have performed well in first halves, especially on the defensive end. The Cherries are 14-11-2 with 21 goals scored and only five conceded. When playing away from home this record becomes 6-7-1 with eight goals scored and only three conceded. Barnsley’s first half performances have, not surprisingly, been poor. They are 3-14-9 with 10 goals scored and 17 conceded. However, when playing at home the Tykes have been a bit more defensively solid, going 2-8-2 with only five goals scored and five goals conceded. 

We’re going to back the first half under 1 on the Asian goals total market. This means if one goal is scored at halftime our bet will be refunded. Both sides have been solid defensively in the first half this season and this match shapes up well for a 0-0 scoreline at the break. Halftime draw at a little over even money would be a good alternative bet as well.