Bolton Wanderers v Barnsley: Back 4/1 anytime assist in play-off second leg

• Ian Evatt's side easy winners in first leg

• Back an Anytime Assist bet at 4/15.00

• Count on goals as Tykes must mount comeback

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Bolton Wanderers v Barnsley
Tuesday 7th May, kick-off 20:00
Live on Sky Sports Football

Advantage Bolton from impressive first leg

League One form was upheld in convincing fashion in the first leg at Oakwell, with Bolton running out easy 1-3 winners to all but seal their path to Wembley. At a price of 1/1001.01 to Qualify, it looks over for Barnsley. And while Ian Evatt insists it's far from job done, an early goal tonight kills off the game for the hosts.

"We knew they would come after us aggressively and we had to probably play over the press a little bit more than we usually do. But I thought we had complete control, we deserved the two-goal lead," said the Bolton manager after Friday's success.

Barnsley made far too many defensive errors in the game, but what can you expect from a team in chaos who sacked their manager a week before the season ended?

Interim boss Martin Devaney said post-Friday: "Bolton are a good side. They just finished outside the top two and they have really good individuals who can hurt you."

Bolton worthy of a short price bet

There's always a fear with such a one-sided first game and a 3-1 advantage for Bolton, that they will be happy seeing out the game with a draw to head into the final, but at 4/61.67 in the Match Odds, there's an argument to say Bolton should be a little shorter.

Their home form matches up with the best in League One with 15 wins in the north west, and Bolton only lost three all season and scored a massive 52 goals at home - more than both Portsmouth and Derby.

Barnsley are far more direct in terms of their play and the hosts will expect plenty of aerial balls into the box this evening, but they conceded only 27 from their 15 home games and have a decent xA at home of just 1.16.

While the Tykes were better on the road in League One, their form is not good enough to even warrant an interest here as they are without a win in seven and they've lost five of their last seven (including Friday's game).

It's similar to the Doncaster win yesterday - as Crewe are (and were) in no sort of winning form.

Goals expected again?

The Over 2.5 Goals is the shorter of the two with Overs at 4/71.57 and Under 2.5 at 11/82.38, but using the Overs at the odds-on price might be one to consider throwing into a Bet Builder.

Bolton have scored 18 goals in their last three matches, and with the three on Friday, they had previously netted three against Peterborough and five against Reading in the run, so they are flying. They also scored five against play-off side Oxford last month.

With an xG of 1.51 at home, that faces up against Barnsley's xA of 1.45 - which is higher than their xG output.

The Tykes haven't kept a clean sheet in their last nine, and backers of the BTTS bet in that run have netted eight times from their past eight games.

The BTTS price 'Yes' is not a surprise at 6/101.60, and we went with a bold selection in the first leg for both to net in the first-half, and that's a tip I wouldn't give up on again as Barnsley will need to show some intent here.

Charles the goalscoring king

Dion Charles netted twice in the first-leg, including a penalty and the first goal inside the first 25 minutes, and he's 6/52.20 Anytime Scorer and 7/24.50 to score first again on the Sportsbook.

Charles had gone through a lean spell prior to Friday, but his tally for the season is now 21 all told.

Zachary Ashowrth got the goal for Bolton in the 1-1 at the Toughsheet Stadium earlier in the regulation season and that match saw Bolton have most of the possession.

One price that does appeal is the 4/15.00 on Aaron Collins for Anytime Assist.

Collins is on a fair scoring run himself and scored a hat-trick against Reading last month and is on double figures in terms of assists with 10, two behind Josh Sheehan, but I've always been a fan of Collins from his Bristol Rovers days and could easily be plying his trade in the Championship.

Now read Paul Higham's preview of Borussia Dortmund v PSG!

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