Plymouth vs Barnsley Prediction: 100/1 pick for close encounter

Plymouth Argyle have had quite the turbulent year. Wayne Rooney’s appointment ultimately cost them their place in the Championship but Miron Muslic nearly pulled off a miraculous survival. Muslic had spoken positively about the League 1 campaign, but walked out the door himself when Schalke came knocking. 

Plymouth therefore turned to Tom Cleverley to take charge of this promotion push, which begins as they host Barnsley at Home Park on Saturday (15:00, Sky Sports+). Below you can find my Plymouth vs Barnsley predictions featuring team news and betting tips. 

Football Odds

Team News

A new manager, and with Mustaphu Bundu and Ryan Hardie also out the door, a new feel to the Plymouth Argyle attack this season. It looks as though teenager Freddie Issaka will play a big role for the Pilgrims while Aribim Pepple joins from Luton Town. 

Jamie Paterson is an experienced arrival having recently been at hometown club Coventry City, while Hertha BSC have allowed holding midfielder Bradley Ibrahim to head to Home Park on a permanent deal. A lot to be excited about in this squad, but can Cleverley get them to gel?

Conor Hourihane stepped into the managerial arena on a permanent basis at the end of 2024/25 and has added the likes of David McGoldrick to his squad this summer. He’s 37, but has still got magic in his boots and should be able to produce the goods for Barnsley this season. 

Marc Roberts will lead the defence while Adam Phillips will be a key cog in midfield, with Davis Keillor-Dunn the major goal threat up top. Fabio Jalo will hope to nail down a starting spot having made 16 appearances last season at the age of 19.

Plymouth vs Barnsley Odds

Plymouth are priced at 5/4 to win this one at home, giving them an implied win probability of 44%. The Tykes can be backed at 2/1, while a draw is available at 13/5 on opening weekend. 

If you are in search of some goals, both teams to find the net is 8/15 while over 2.5 goals is 8/13. In terms of goalscorers, Keillor-Dunn leads the market at 6/1 to find the net first, while Issaka is 7/1.

Plymouth to win @ 5/4

I’m fairly confident that Plymouth can get off to a good start here, and that Cleverley is the right man for the job. Coming down from the Championship in the turbulent fashion that they did always leaves some concerns, but they were a strong team for the final 15 games of the league season. 

Now some stars have left, this feels like a clean slate for the former Watford manager to work with, and I back him to get them in the play-offs this term. There’s a decent amount of quality in the squad, while Barnsley have a inexperienced manager at the helm and although I’m excited about a fair few of their players, I think a mid-table finish awaits. Home win to kick us off. 

Scorecast - Plymouth 2-1 Barnsley and Davis Keillor-Dunn to score last @ 100/1

Obviously a big punt with my second selection but one I really like for a number of reasons. The way I see this game panning out is that Plymouth get off to a flying start and go 2-0 up in front of a raucous home crowd, before Barnsley find their feet and attempt to launch a late comeback. 

With both teams likely to score I think a 2-1 home win is the most likely score, while Barnsley’s main threat is obviously Keillor-Dunn. The attacking midfielder turned forward scored a massive 18 goals in 45 league appearances last term and I back him to have another good season in front of goal. 100/1 for this? Might be worth a few pence. 

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