In the group stages, Port Vale was very impressive, winning all three games without giving up a goal to advance to the first knockout round.
Malvind Benning and Ademipo Odubeko scored late goals for Vale in their final EFL Trophy game against Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-21s to secure their place as group winners.
Darrell Clarke’s team has had a great start to their league play in their first season back in the third tier, currently sitting in 10th place and only four points out of the playoff spots.
The Valiants’ most recent victory was a 1-0 home victory over Charlton Athletic, a score they have developed a habit of using to win after defeating Lincoln City and Cambridge United in their previous two victories.
Just before the hour mark, Daniel Butterworth scored the game’s only goal against the Addicks, and the backline then put on a strong defensive performance to secure the victory.
In their EFL Trophy group, Barnsley wasn’t quite as dominant as Vale, but they still won two of their three games to advance to the first round.
The Tykes’ fate came down to the final game, in which they comfortably dispatched of Doncaster Rovers 4-2 after racing into a 4-0 lead prior to half time, with Josh Martin and Fabio Jalo scoring braces.
After being demoted from the Championship last season, Michael Duff’s team has had a respectable, if not spectacular start to the current league season. They are currently sixth in the standings.
Barnsley’s recent performance has really improved, with the team winning four straight games across all competitions and advancing to the FA Cup second round with a 2-1 victory at Bolton Wanderers.
The Tykes defeated MK Dons 3-1 in their most recent game, but in their two League One victories before that, they defeated Shrewsbury Town 1-0 on the road and Forest Green Rovers 2-0 at home, both while maintaining a clean sheet.
Now these two sides are set to meet!
1X2 Betting Odds
The bookmarkers have absolutely no idea how this will play out!
With almost dead even odds, this is meant to be a tight affair.
The odds that the home side, Port Vale will win stand at 2.64, while the odds that the away side, Barnsley will win stand at 2.75!
So close!
The odds of a stalemate stand in at 3.6.
It was a closely-fought encounter the last time these two sides met, with nothing being able to split them on that day.
However, Barnsley have been in good form recently and should possess the quality to edge into the next round by a close margin!
Total goals over/under
The odds that the total number of goals scored in this match will be above 2.5 stands at 1.96.
While the odds that it will be less than 2.5 stands at 1.95!
It’s absolutely tight to predict this one!
Both, in terms of final result and the number of goals it will have!
