League One play-off betting tips: Barnsley vs Bolton

Barnsley and Bolton head into this second leg following a 1-1 draw in Lancashire.

League One play-off semi-finals second leg, Friday May 19, Kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports Main Event

Barnsley to win

Over 2.5 goals

Both teams to score

Barnsley have scored 28 goals in their last 12 home matches, an average of 2.33 per game.

Both teams have scored in 16 of their 23 head-to-head meetings.

Bolton will hope to maintain their positive record against Barnsley. They are unbeaten in 16 league meetings dating back to a Premier League clash in 1997.

Nicky Cadden and Dion Charles struck four minutes apart to earn Barnsley and Bolton a share of the spoils in the League One play-off semi-finals first leg.

It's hard to definitively say who had the better of the first leg, but the Tykes will be the happier of the two sides after claiming a 1-1 draw at the University of Bolton Stadium.

The hosts remained patient and were able to dominate possession, but they did struggle to find a way through at times. The few shots (seven) they did take produced reasonably good chances, most notably Charles early on.

The visitors kept things tight and shut down the passing lanes effectively and were far more efficient with their 38% possession. In addition to the goal, Bobby Thomas had two big chances.

Bolton won't be allowed to control possession in the same way at Oakwell, but that may actually suit them better. Barnsley like to push numbers forward and when they get caught, there will be space behind for the Trotters.

They have a pretty good record of scoring on their travels, finding the net in 19 of their last 24 away matches. Both teams scoring seems likely, but it's the Wanderers defence that will really be tested.

Barnsley have hit the net 28 times in 12 home matches since the turn of the year, winning nine of those games. One team that did slow them down was Bolton, who ran out 3-0 winners here in January.

Morecambe, Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Derby and Accrington have all been on the wrong side of hammerings, conceding at least three.

The numbers reflect just how lethal the hosts can be. They have the ability to take the game away from teams in a flash, as demonstrated by their quick-fire doubles.

Michael Duff's side have followed one goal with another inside 10 minutes on no fewer than six occasions in their last 12 home matches. A handful of those came within five minutes, including two in three minutes against Wednesday.

One fact that cannot be ignored in this preview is that Bolton are unbeaten in 16 league meetings against Barnsley dating back to a Premier League clash in 1997. All good things come to an end.

We expect Bolton to pose questions and get on the scoresheet on Friday, but the home side have far too many top quality attacking players. They know where the net is and they should create a high number of chances at home.