League 2 
The battle for the playoffs heats up in League Two this Saturday as Barrow AFC host Harrogate Town at Furness Peninsula Stadium for a 3:00 PM kick-off. Both sides are currently outside the automatic promotion spots but firmly in the hunt for a playoff place.
The home side currently find themselves inside the playoff places in 6th position, having gained 59 points from their 35 league games so far this campaign. Barrow come into this game on the back of consecutive victories against Gillingham and Colchester.
Barrow have not conceded a goal in their last two outings and will be aiming to make it three clean sheets in a row this weekend.
In contrast to the hosts, Harrogate have been sliding down the League Two table after a dreadful run of form. The Sulphurites currently find themselves in 14th position in the table having gained 49 points from their 36 league outings this season.
The visitors are without a win in their last six league outings and were defeated 2-1 by Crawley last time out where Crawley snatched a dramatic comeback victory. Harrogate took the lead midway through the first half thanks to a long-range effort from George Thomson. Crawley pressed for an equaliser in the second half and their efforts paid off just before the hour mark.
A scramble in the box saw the ball fall to Harry Forster who stabbed it home from close range. The winner came in the 66th minute from Klaidi Lolos. The Greek striker expertly controlled the ball before unleashing a powerful strike that flew past the Harrogate keeper.
The fixture of barrow vs Harrogate is a relatively new one with the two sides having first met in League Two in 2020, a game which Harrogate went on to win 1-0.
Barrow and Harrogate have played a total of 7 matches against each other. Of these encounters, Harrogate has emerged victorious on 4 occasions, while Barrow has been able to secure wins in 2 matches. The remaining fixture ended in a draw.
The most recent meeting between the two teams took place on September 2nd, 2023, where Barrow emerged triumphant with a 1-0 scoreline. The game came alive early when Kian Spence, fresh off his summer move, smashed home a stunning strike from distance in just the 21st minute. The Bluebirds held firm defensively throughout the remainder of the match, frustrating Harrogate's attempts to find an equaliser.
Unsurprisingly, considering the respective form of these sides heading into this weekend, it is Barrow who are heavily favoured at the bookies and are currently priced @ 4/7, whilst an away win for Harrogate is priced @ 17/4 and a draw is @ 3/1.
We are backing Barrow to win and Over 2.5 Goals in the match because they come into the match on the back of much better form. Harrogate’s defence has been of particular weakness in recent weeks and we expect Crawley to exploit this in a high scoring game.
* all odds are accurate at the time of writing