Portsmouth vs Barnsley prediction 16.04.2024

• Competition: League One
• Date: Tuesday, 16th April 2024
• Kickoff: 19:45 UK / 20:45 CEST
• Venue: Fratton Park (Portsmouth)

After 11 seasons in the 3rd and 4th tier, Portsmouth is finally in a position to return to the Championship with a positive result against Barnsley. Popular Pompey are at the top of the league with 91 points in 43 rounds, five points above the 2nd-placed Derby, but with a game less played. But more importantly, they are nine points away from third place, which would drag them into the playoff battle. With only three rounds left, a win in the next match would mean that they would secure a direct promotion mathematically if Bolton fails to win in their match. 

Barnsley constantly traveled between the Championship and League One in the last seven seasons. Last year, they reached the League One Playoffs Final but eventually lost to Sheffield Wednesday. This season, they are once again on the pace to secure the playoffs. Currently, the Yorkshire team is holding 5th place, a comfortable five-point advantage over 7th place Blackpool, with a game played less. However, the last part of the season has been a reason for concern, and they will definitely try to put in a good performance against the league's leader and a probable League One winner.

Portsmouth vs Barnsley pick: Portsmouth to win

As the season progresses, Portsmouth are only getting better. Right now, they are on a 16-game unbeaten run, and at home, they won six of the last seven matches! They only failed to win against Derby (2:2), but with 70% ball possession, they definitely deserved more and could have easily been on a seven-game winning streak at Fratton Park.

On the other hand, Barnsley are struggling in the final part of the season. The Tykes won just once in the last six games, and they haven't had a game against the teams from the top six. Additionally, even though they were good away from home through the season, they lost back-to-back games vs Stevenage and Charlton, and we do not trust them against the best team in the league.

In the first h2h game, we saw an exciting game in which Portsmouth won 3:2 away from home. Considering all the above, we firmly believe Portsmouth will secure another home win and take a big step towards winning the League One title.