Eng. Championship
2011-02-19 - Portsmouth vs Barnsley
A Sports Betting Pick by ArmchairPunter
Football : England : nPower Championship
Saturday 19th February 2011 – Kickoff 3pm
At first glance, this match appears to be a nothing sort of a fixture with home side Portsmouth relatively safe from relegation at the moment, while Barnsley sit in a comfortable mid-table position.
We all know how quickly that can change, but for now, I view this fixture as an excellent chance to make some money – read on for details.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth sit in a disappointing 18th spot and six points above Sheffield United in 22nd place. Inconsistency has been Pompey's downfall this season, but they do score and concede goals on a regular basis at Fratton Park – their stats back this up as Pompey have failed to score just twice, while keeping a clean sheet on just the one occasion.
The Portsmouth home record stands at 4-6-4 25/21, and they do possess some key players in the final third of the pitch; striker David Nugent (8 goals, 4 assists) heads the goalscoring, along with former Stoke City midfielder Liam Lawrence (7 goals, 7 assists) who surely should be playing at a higher level?
Then there's another ex-Stoke striker Dave Kitson (6 goals, 2 assists) and Greg Halford (5 goals) also chipping in. Kanu has provided 4 assists too.
I am not too concerned about Pompey's run of form at home (wins & losses), rather the goals they have been involved in. 8 out of their 14 home matches have ended up over 2.5 goals.
Barnsley
Visitors, Barnsley, are enjoying a Championship season thus far free from the pressures of relegation. They too have scored a few goals, but tend to concede more than they score on the road as their away stats suggest; 3-3-9 14/31, with the alarming stat of keeping just two clean sheets in 15 matches with 10 of them resulting in over 2.5 goals.
Again, not overly concerned with their away form in terms of wins and losses, but they have lost their last two away from home in succession - 0-2 at Millwall and 1-4 at Leicester City. Another interesting statistic is that Barnsley have conceded 2 goals or more on 10 occasions away from home so far.
Whilst The Tykes are not blessed with prolific goalscorers, they still have players capable of converting chances; striker Garry O'Connor (4 goals, 2 assists), Andy Gray (4 goals), midfielder Danny Haynes (3 goals) and Kieran Trippier (5 assists) are the ones most likely to bother the scorers.
The Betting Verdict :
Pompey have always been pretty strong at home, urged on by their loyal bell-ringing fans, while Barnsley do not have any pressures currently – should be an attack-minded fixture, perhaps Pompey just edging out Barnsley 2-1.
The Pick :
Barnsley 2-1 Portsmouth
