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Bournemouth welcome Barnsley to the Vitality Stadium in a much-awaited EFL Championship match on Saturday.
The two clubs are separated by a meager two points as they continue to fight for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last three, having drawn their last game against Preston on Wednesday.
Barnsley's goalless draw against Wayne Rooney's Derby Country snapped their six-match winning streak. Nonetheless, they have picked up 19 points from a possible 21 in their last seven matches.
Bournemouth vs Barnsley Head-to-Head
Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last five encounters against Barnsley, with two games going their way. The last time Barnsley won this fixture was back in the 2004 League One season, where they romped to a 3-1 victory.
The last time these two clubs faced each other was in December last year, with Bournemouth hammering the home team 4-0. That remains Barnsley's biggest defeat of the season so far.
Bournemouth Form Guide: D-W-W-L-L
Barnsley form guide: D-W-W-W-W
Bournemouth vs Barnsley Team News
Bournemouth
Dominic Solanke is still out with an ankle injury. Meanwhile, Jack Wilshere will serve the third of his three-game ban for the red card he received against Watford two weeks ago.
Injured: Dominic Solanke
Suspended: Jack Wilshere
Unavailable: None
Barnsley
Barnsley will be without defenders Liam Kitching and Ben Williams. However, given the form they are in, they are unlikely to want to tinker too much with their side anyway.
Injured: Liam Kitching, Ben Williams
Suspended: None
Bournemouth vs Barnsley Predicted XI
Bournemouth (4-3-3): Asmir Begovic; Adam Smith, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Steve Cook, Lloyd Kelly; Lewis Cook, Ben Pearson, Jefferson Lerma; Junior Stanislas, Dominic Solanke, Arnaut Danjuma.
Barnsley Predicted XI (3-4-3): Brad Collins; Michael Sollbauer, Michal Helik, Mads Andersen; Callum Brittain, Herbie Kane, Alex Mowatt, Callum Styles; Cauley Woodrow, Daryl Dike, Carlton Morris
Bournemouth vs Barnsley Prediction
Without a shadow of a doubt, the prospect of facing Bournemouth in this Championship game is quite daunting for the visitors. Barnsley have failed to get a win in this fixture since 2004, and they will want to change that record. They can only rely on their current form to break the jinx.
Bournemouth, nonetheless, remain the odds-on favorites to win the fixture, and we expect them to do so.
Prediction: Bournemouth 3-1 Barnsley
