Portsmouth are one win away from automatic promotion as they welcome Barnsley to Fratton Park for a midweek League One fixture. Pompey have been imperious lately, especially at home and should be too strong for their out of sorts visitors.
Portsmouth appear to be ending the season in fine style as they are unbeaten in their last 16 League One matches. They are nine points clear of third placed Bolton Wanderers with three matches to go and can confirm automatic promotion with a win on Tuesday.
Although things have been generally smooth for Portsmouth, they stumbled last time out, battling to a 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers. They struck early in the first half through Abu Kamara but were pegged back before the break.
One of the more impressive aspects about Portsmouth's campaign is their solid home record as they are unbeaten in their last seven matches at Fratton Park. John Mousinho’s men have claimed six wins in that run but have failed to keep a single clean sheet.
Barnsley travel to Fratton Park off the back of a 2-2 draw with Reading in their previous League One fixture. They fell behind twice but struck back both times through Adam Phillips and Fabio Joao.
Although they showed some fight, that result means Barnsley have claimed just one win from their last six matches. They remain in the hunt for the promotion playoffs, holding a five point lead over seventh placed Blackpool.
Barnsley have found things difficult on their recent travels having lost their last two away matches. However they had claimed four straight wins on the road prior to those defeats and will be looking to channel those performances on Tuesday.
How the bookies view it
Portsmouth have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 19/20 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Barnsley is valued at 3/1 by BoyleSports while a draw is set at odds of 11/4 by 888Sport.
Head to head
Portsmouth and Barnsley have claimed 19 wins each with six draws from 26 previous meetings. However, Pompey picked up a 3-2 win in the reverse fixture back in September.
Players to watch
Colby Bishop has stood out for Portsmouth this season with 20 League One goals so far and will be the one to watch on Tuesday. With support from Abu Kamara and Patrick Lane, the hosts could be backed to produce over 1.5 goals at 17/20 with William Hill.
Barnsley also have attacking quality with Devante Cole and John McAtee scoring 17 and 10 goals respectively. Both men can combine for over 1.5 goals on Tuesday at 2/1 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
The last two meetings have produced over 3.5 goals and a repeat is priced at 2/1 by Betfred. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 4/5 with bet365 while William Hill is offering 7/10 on both teams to score.
Portsmouth have scored in both halves in their last seven home matches and could be set for a similar pattern at 9/5 with Paddy Power.
This English League One match between Portsmouth and Barnsley will be played on Apr 16, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Portsmouth vs Barnsley prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
