Swansea vs Barnsley Prediction & Betting Tips - Championship

Prediction published on 19/05/2021, 17:15  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 19/05/2021 at 17:15 in Championship Prediction

Two points separated Swansea and Barnsley at the end of the regular season in the Championship. The two were drawn to face off in the playoff semi finals and with Barnsley hosting the first leg, it was Swansea who took the advantage with a 1-0 win. Now Swansea plays host in the return leg, hoping to avoid a repeat of last season, when they beat Brentford 1-0 but lost 3-1 in the return leg. Andre Ayew, just like in last season’s semi final first leg, scored the only goal and Swansea will be relying heavily on him as they seek a Premier League return. The first leg between these two sides had lee action in attack and not much is expect in the second, with Swansea likely to sit back. These two sides were the lowest scorers among the teams that made the playoffs. Swansea conceded 11 lesser goals compared to Barnsley in the regular season but they head here with one clean sheet in six matches. History has it that form in the regular season is never a good gauge for success in the playoffs and Swansea, who had a poor finish will generally be happy to apply it.

Barnsley are considered the weakest among teams that secured playoff places. They didn’t disappoint in the first leg, as their loss was expected. The investment in Valerien Ismael’s squad isn’t as big as in the other four teams playing at this stage and for a team that fought relegation last season, they’ve already overachieved. Barnsley failed to win any of their final two matches of the regular season and now are on three winless matches. Their goal scoring resources don’t match what Swansea have and it explains why they had the least goal difference in the top six. They’ve scored more than a goal in just one of the last six matches but have a good away run, and knowing Swansea have struggled at home lately, they will want to give a fight for their Premier League chance. Barnsley have two losses and seven away wins in the last 10.