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Barnsley v Mansfield
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Kick Off: Friday 9th August at 20:00
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Competition: League One
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Watch Live: Sky Sports+
Barnsley, looking to bounce back from last season’s play-off semi-final disappointment, face off against newly-promoted Mansfield Town on Friday night as domestic EFL football returns for 2024/25.
The hosts commence the campaign with a new manager in the dugout in the form of former Cheltenham Town boss Darrell Clarke; who himself played over 150 times for Mansfield during his playing career.
As for Town, they are back playing at this level for the first time since 2002/03, and are still under the stewardship of Nigel Clough, who has been in charge since November 2020 and is currently ranked as the seventh longest-serving manager in the top four leagues.
Based upon the pre-season odds, Barnsley should be in the hunt for a play-off spot, whereas Mansfield are more likely to be fighting for their League One survival.
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Barnsley v Mansfield Best Bets
The opening day of the season can often bring about somewhat surprising results and it would not be a shock to see the same apply here.
Remember, Mansfield are still on a high following promotion and they will be relishing these kinds of tests, especially away from home. Barnsley are of course the favourites but their squad gives off the impression of being a little bit light heading into the new campaign.
On the other hand, Mansfield have undoubtedly improved and their dogged and battling approach will make them a tough opponent in situations like this on the road. Backing Mansfield with a +1 handicap at 1.73 rates as a solid bet considering how organised and well-drilled they are.
The home team won’t have it all their own way and with Barnsley still searching for quality options up front, they could be lacking in the final third, a possibility which opens the door for a surprise result for the visitors who look more than capable of taking at least a point here.
📂 Barnsley v Mansfield Cheat Sheet
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📊 Barnsley Form and Stats
For two seasons running, Barnsley have made the end-of-season play-offs and failed to secure promotion each time. They also head into the new campaign minus their top scorer in each of the last two campaigns, Devante Cole, who has moved to West Bromwich Albion. Only two other players scored more League One goals than him in 2023/24, and he alone was responsible for just under 22% of their league goals.
Newly appointed manager Clarke would no doubt be pleased to record the kind of result his new team achieved in the first match of 2022/23 when they emphatically defeated Port Vale, a club Clarke has managed previously, 7-0, including a hat-trick from Cole. That mauling made them the first side to win by seven goals on the opening day of the season since Wolves in 1962.
One worrying statistic from last season that The Tykes will wish to improve upon revolves around how poorly they started matches. Out of all League One clubs, they conceded a league-high of 15 goals inside the first 15 minutes of matches, scoring only seven in return. Betfair offer a market where you can back Mansfield to be leading after 20 minutes, which is priced at 6.00, which could be a nice outside shot here.
However, Barnsley can be proud of the fact that only eventual champions Portsmouth earned more points despite conceding the first goal of the game, so Clarke’s man could well improve as the 90 minutes progress on Friday.
📊 Mansfield Form and Stats
Mansfield finished the previous season in third behind Stockport County and Wrexham to seal their long-awaited return to the third tier of English football. They would end the season on a five-match unbeaten stretch, which included four victories. Within this sequence, they would net an average of 2.00 goals per game but only one clean sheet. The Stags earned only two clean sheets from their previous 13 league matches of 2023/24.
Something manager Clough would have been especially proud of over the campaign was their impressive form away from home, which was ranked only second to league champions Stockport. Town would also be ranked second to their rivals in away victories and away goals scored, proving their effectiveness away from Field Mill.
The club also proved that age is just a number as they would win promotion despite possessing an average age of 28.9; the fourth highest in League Two. They did not lack for energy however as they would top the division in shots per 90 with 17.5 and also shots on target per 90 with 6.2.
As mentioned, Mansfield had a great away record last season but this was mainly built on a foundation of initially being tough to beat. That is because they were one of only eight teams to have been drawing at half time in away league games on 10 or more occasions. Unsurprisingly, their second-half away record was ranked first. Nevertheless, Betfair’s price of 2.2 on a half-time draw warrants some consideration.
⚔️ Barnsley v Mansfield Head-to-Head
Friday’s meeting will be the first between these two clubs since April 2003. The two fixtures that were contested in the 2002/03 season, which were also played at League One level, would see both sides earn a 1-0 victory. Those matches have been the only two meetings of the two sides since 1980, meaning there is virtually no relatively recent experience to look back upon.
Mansfield are seeking a first win on the opening day of a season since their 2-1 triumph over Bristol Rovers in 2021. However, you would have to go back an extra year for the last time Town kept a clean sheet in their first match.
The lack of solid historical data means we have little more than quirky facts to refer to here, such as Barnsley’s impressive record against ‘Town’ teams last season. The Yorkshire-based club went unbeaten in league action last season against teams with Town in their name, securing 16 points from 24 available against Cheltenham Town, Fleetwood Town, Northampton Town and Shrewsbury Town (W4 D4).
* We recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
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