Barnsley v West Ham: Tykes to struggle in front of goal once again
Published:Barnsley have been on a dreadful run of form of late, and will struggle to turn that round by beating West Ham at 16/5 on Friday.
The Hammers are 4/5 for victory at Oakwell, and punters should get behind the Championship’s most proficient away side to score a 12th win of the season on the road.
12/5 is the price attributed to the draw, but Barnsley’s woeful recent record in front of goal would seem to suggest that they will be outscored by their visitors, who have found the net during their last eight outings.
Keith Hill’s Barnsley meanwhile, after a promising start to the season, have tailed off spectacularly, and a run in which they have scored three times in nine games includes a streak of just one goal in their past six.
For this reason, a standout bet comes in the form of a West Ham win to nil, and there is a very respectable 7/1 price about the Hammers triumphing 2-0, as they did on their last away trip.
They also beat Barnsley by this scoreline in an FA Cup tie last year, and that game was one of the past four meetings of these sides that resulted with West Ham winning without conceding.
It could also be worth looking at half markets in this match as a way to make profit.
West Ham have been ahead at half-time in almost half of their 20 games on the road during the campaign, and having triumphed 11 times on their travels, the 2/1 odds for them to be leading at half-time and full-time here are very appealing.
Ricardo Vaz Te will be returning to Oakwell for the first time since his January switch to Upton Park, and after scoring in each of his past two Hammers games, he could haunt his former club with the opener at 9/2.
