Match details:

Barnsley vs Reading

Date: 02nd April 2021

Time: 22:00 IST

Venue: Oakwell

Competition: English Championship

Preview:

In this fixture, we will see 5th placed Barnsley host Reading who are 6th on the table & just 2 behind them. In their last head to head game, Reading came out on top by winning 2-0. In the last league game Reading played Queens Park Rangers & had a 1-1 draw at home. Meanwhile, Barnsley played Sheffield Wednesday & ended with a 1-2 loss at home. These 2 are very good teams but have lacked consistency. Reading has a very good record against the host but still it is difficult to call a winner in this game. This is a huge clash that could go a long way to determining which side finishes in a playoff spot. Any slip up now can be costly and hence we believe this will be a highly competitive game.

Key Stats & Info:

• Barnsley have 3 wins, a draw & a loss in the last 5 games
• Reading have 2 wins, 2 draws & a loss in their last 5 games
• Reading are undefeated in their last 8 away matches against Barnsley in all competitions
• Their recent head-to-head record is biased towards Reading, In a total of 13 recent meetings between the two sides, Barnsley have won 2, Reading won 7 & 4 have ended in a draw

Expected XI

Barnsley:

Collins (GK), Sibbick, Helik, Andersen, Brittain, Morris, Mowatt, Palmer, Woodrow, Styles, Dike

Reading:

Cabral (GK), Moore, McIntyre, Richards, Holmes, Laurent, Ejaria, Rinomhota, Olise, João, Meïté

Key players:

Lucas Joao (RED): The 27-year old Portuguese national joined Reading last season from Sheffield Wednesday. This season he has been trusted with the striker position & he has really delivered well. Joao has the dribbling skills & technical ability to get inside the box to score and he protects the ball well to make intricate passes to open up pockets of spaces. He averages 1.5 successful dribbles per game & wins 5.5 duels on average. He has averages 2.1 key passes per game & makes 2.1shots per game; his conversion rate of 28% is decent as well. His tally for the season stands at 18 goals & 7 assists, making him the 4th highest scorer in the league. Joao didnt quite have his shooting boots on against QPR. Despite that, he managed 5 shots of which 2 were off-target & 3 were blocked. He also made a key pass & created a big chance.

Yakou Meite (RED): The 25-year old Cote d’Ivoire national made to return to the Championship in 2018 after a spell in France with Sochaux. He is deployed as a winger or an attacking midfielder. He is quite good in the air & wins aerial duels. His midfield hold-up play is decent as well. He wins 1.8 aerial duels per game & his headed attempts at goal are significant as well. His 2.5 shots on goal per game see a conversion rate of 25% & he has got 9 goals in the Championship so far. He can be very influential in this game.

Cauley Woodrow (BAR): The 26-year old joined Barnsley from Fulham in 2019. He is quite versatile in covering the positions upfront and prominently he is deployed as a striker but at times he plays as an attacking midfielder. His job as a number 9 is simply to pick up leftover balls in threatening areas & fire them into the goal. His quick passing allows him to avoid immediate challenges to keep the ball alive & his shooting skills enable him to shoot at the mere sight of goal. His goal-scoring output is also good as he averages 1.1 shots per game & converts 18% of them. He has got 11 goals & 4 assists in the Championship this season.

Captain & Vice-Captain picks

• L Joao
• C Woodrow
• M Olise
• Y Meite
• A Mowatt

Source for Stats:

https://www.transfermarkt.co.in/

https://www.whoscored.com/

https://int.soccerway.com/

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are of the author and is not a reflection of the actual points you might earn