Bolton vs Barnsley
Saturday 12th April
Kick-off 3.07pm
On Tuesday Barnsley’s point scoring run came to an end as Burnley left Oakwell having beaten the Reds 1-0.
It was Ashley Barnes who sealed all three points for Burnley with an early header as the Clarets edge ever closer to promotion back to the top flight.
Danny Wilson praised his side’s efforts against a strong Burnley side as he noted: “I think as far as application goes, you can’t fault them.”
Having dropped back down to 23rd ahead of Saturday’s meeting due to Millwall’s win over Wigan, Barnsley will be hopeful of putting an end to Bolton’s good run of form.
From their last five games Bolton have picked up an impressive nine points with two wins and three draws. The most notable of these games was their 1-0 victory over Huddersfield as a last minute goal from Joe Mason sealed all three points in a game that had looked destined to finish level.
Record
This will be the 38th time that this fixture has been played in the Football League.
Barnsley wins over Bolton- 11
Bolton wins over Barnsley- 14
Draws- 12
Memory Lane
Barnsley last met Bolton back in December at Oakwell although things didn’t go Barnsley’s way that day as they are still searching for their first league win over Bolton since both sides were in the Premier League in the 97/98 season.
In December the Reds were unlucky as they lost 1-0 to Bolton although having started well in the game, the quality in the side shone through.
Hoping to rectify things this time round three points for the Reds could make the difference to the season as Bolton’s campaign looks to be heading towards a solid mid-table finish.
Players to watch
Lewis Nyatanga has been making an impact in the Barnsley defence recently as his contributions have coincided with the Reds’ making some ground in the race to score points.
Nyatanga is a product of Derby County’s youth system and having signed a professional contract with the Rams in 2005, he has since become a highly regarded defender.
During his four year spell with Derby, Nyatanga did make more than 50 appearances for the club although he spent most of his time away on loan. After spending some time with Sunderland on loan Nyatanga then embarked on three separate loan spells with Barnsley from 2007 to 2008.
Nyatanga’s next permanent club was Bristol City, where he made more than 100 appearances. Injuries cut short his time with Bristol however and after another loan move to Peterborough, the Welsh international returned to Barnsley where he had formed good links during his time spent on loan.
Jermaine Beckford is one of the biggest names on the Bolton team sheet and since his move from Leicester in 2013 he has started to make an impact at the club.
Boasting quite the pedigree, Beckford has played at almost every level that football has to offer. Having started his career in Chelsea’s youth academy, Beckford spent three years there before joining Wealdstone.
Beckford spent three years with Wealdstone where he made a name for himself boasting an impressive scoring record for the club. During that time he reportedly attracted a lot of attention from the Football League with many clubs sending scouts to Wealdstone.
It was Leeds Utd who won the battle to sign Beckford and during his time with the Yorkshire club he was involved in some of their greatest triumphs of recent times.
Since his move from Leeds, Beckford has spent time in the Premier League with Everton and more recently Huddersfield and Leicester in the Championship.
Now with Bolton, Beckford will be looking to rediscover the goal scoring form that helped to get his career back on track.
Team News
Kelvin Etuhu makes is expected to make his return from suspension for the Reds whilst Martin Cranie is a doubt.
Liam Lawrence didn’t feature in Barnsley’s last game but he is expected to have recovered in time from a calf injury.
Bolton’s Mark Davies may play a part in the game after recovering from a groin injury although on loan Joe Mason is set to make his last appearance for the club before returning back to Cardiff.
League Form
Barnsley
L- (H) Burnley 1-0
D-(H) Brighton 0-0
W- (A) Yeovil 4-1
W- (A) Reading 3-1
L- (H) Bournemouth
Bolton
W-(A) Doncaster 2-1
W-(A) Huddersfield 1-0
D- (H) Wigan 1-1
W-(H) Blackpool 1-0
D- (A) Yeovil 2-2
Betting
Barnsley win: 7/2
Bolton win: 3/4
Draw: 13/5
1st goal scorer:
Tomasz Cywka: 8/1
Lukas Jutkiewicz: 9/2
Officials
Referee- James Adcock
Assistant Referees- Robert Merchant & Darren Strain
Fourth Official- Michael Naylor