Football Bet of the Day: Tykes forward to profit against Exeter

League One promotion-chasers Barnsley welcome strugglers Exeter City to Oakwell on Saturday afternoon (15:00) looking to win their fourth game on the bounce.

They came out on top in a battle with fellow promotion hopefuls Oxford United in midweek as they emerged with a 1-0 victory at the Kassam Stadium. This has taken them to within three points of the automatic promotion spots and they have games in hand over two of the sides above them.

The Grecians were also victorious in the week, beating Bristol Rovers away from home to pick up their second win in their last four games, as they look to pull away from the bottom four.

It is going to be a tough ask for them to get something at Barnsley given the form the Tykes are in. And there is one player in particular who can cause them several problems this weekend.

Striker Devante Cole has been enjoying himself in the third tier this season. The Manchester City academy graduate has scored 16 goals so far and is the joint-leading marksman in the division, alongside Charlton Athletic's Alfie May.

The next highest goalscorer for Barnsley is Herbie Kane with six, so Cole has been the Tykes' most important asset in their quest for promotion. Cole has been one of the standout players in League One in 2023-24, and with still a lot of the campaign left to play, he still has plenty more goals to give for his team.

He wasn't on the scoresheet in the reverse fixture at Exeter, and he wasn't the match-winner against Oxford last time out, but he still heads into the weekend in fine form.

The 28-year-old has scored four goals in his last five appearances in the league which is 25 per cent of his 16-goal haul thus far. One of those goals came against second-placed Peterborough United, which in particular would have had a great effect on his confidence.

As we enter the final months of the season, Barnsley boss Neill Collins will thrust extra responsibility upon his forward because his goals could prove to be the difference between automatic promotion and a place in the play-offs.

Of course it can't solely fall upon Cole to deliver promotion for his side but his goals are just that important. He has proven to be one of the most clinical marksman in the league with a 37% shot conversion rate, and he doesn't look to be slowing down any time soon.

To further highlight his exploits this season, Exeter have only scored three more goals collectively in League One than he has by himself. And the Grecians are among one of the sides with the most goals conceded this year. They have shipped 39 so far and only four teams have a worse defensive record.

This sets Cole up nicely to end his one-game duck without a goal this weekend.