Barnsley vs Rotherham United: Prediction, lineups & odds (26/08)

It’s a South Yorkshire derby in the second round of the Carabao Cup this week as League One rivals Barnsley and Rotherham United face off looking for local bragging rights as well as cup progression.

Our 3 predictions for Barnsley vs Rotherham United

1st prediction: Barnsley to win or draw
2nd prediction: Over 2.5 goals in the game
3rd prediction: Both teams to score

1st prediction for Barnsley vs Rotherham United: Barnsley to win – 3/4

While not particularly glamourous, this is an exciting cup tie. It’s a local derby, with the two teams separated by less than fifteen miles, which will add some spice to the occasion with the potential to knock out a rival at stake. The two teams are also in the same division, so results here may provide an interesting measure of how the two teams may fare relative to each other at this early stage of the league campaign. As well as being a battle of League One sides, it is also a battle of two rookie managers which provides an interesting backdrop to the clash. Tykes legend Conor Hourihane is in his first full season as a manager having taken over at Oakwell at the end of last season, and Barnsley fans will be hoping he is as successful in the dugout as he was playing for them, with the Irishman captaining the team to League One play-off success. Rotherham also have a new man in the dugout with Matt Hamshaw also in his first full season at the helm at his boyhood club having worked up the coaching ranks. The Millers manager’s managerial career isn’t off to the best start though, with Rotherham towards the bottom of League One with only one win thus far while Barnsley occupy a play-off spot. With this in mind and home advantage, progression to round three looks likely for Barnsley.

2nd prediction for Barnsley vs Rotherham United: Over 2.5 goals in the game – 17/25

This is likely to be an interesting game in front of goal. Neither side have been incredible in goal or super leaky at the back, but there is enough in the stats and the context of the game to predict goals. Rotherham have only scored in two of their four league games so far this season but they have scored twice on those occasions. They’ll be hoping this is the case in midweek, as that would only toughen the task for Barnsley. They do tend to conceded when they score though with no clean sheets this campaign, which is a worrying sign. As for Barnsley, they’ve only kept the one clean sheet but have also only fired one blank so far. The signs also point towards the goal share being close, with both sides scraping through the previous round on penalties, so the odd goal may decide this one. It’s going to be an entertaining one, but it will be close.

3rd prediction for Barnsley vs Rotherham United: Both teams to score – 31/50

This is a prediction which leads on from the previous one. All the signs are leading to an open game, with both sides looking vulnerable at times this season and with areas to exploit. Add into that the context of this as a cup game, as well as a local derby. Both sides will go all out for this game fir both bragging rights and cup progression, so we may see and end-to-end tie where both sides attack and look purely to outscore each other. Barnsley are probably just about favourites in terms of amount of goals purely due to their talent and home advantage, but anything can happen in cup games and derbies. As discussed previously, Rotherham do have a chance and will do everything they can in front of goal, so don’t count them out.

Best odds for Barnsley vs Rotherham United

Bookmaker	Barnsley	Draw	Rotherham United
MyriadPlay	3/4	27/10	16/5
Gentleman Jim	4/5	11/4	16/5
Betarno	4/5	281/100	16/5

Full preview of the game: last results and head to head

This is a massive game at this stage of the season, with two local rivals going head-to-head as they search for cup success and bragging rights. Curiously, both sides won on penalties to reach this stage, with Barnsley beating League Two side Fleetwood and Rotherham defeating Salford. It’s been a different picture in the league though, with Barnsley losing only once thus far and occupying a play-off spot while Rotherham haven’t won since opening day and sit in the bottom half. With both sides having a coach in their first full season of management, there is a sense of the unknown about this season, though both managers did have brief spells at the back end of last season. Barnsley will certainly be the happier with how their season has started, though Rotherham will certainly see this as a chance to get their campaign up and running. In terms of this fixture’s history, all the signs point towards Barnsley. They’ve won eight of the last twelve meetings, with only one Rotherham win. They completed a league double last season without conceding a goal, which will certainly give them confidence ahead of this tie.

Confrontation

Where to watch Barnsley vs Rotherham United

This is a huge game as both sides look to put together a cup run and beat local rivals.. Here’s where to watch it:

Location: Oakwell, Barnsley, UK, S71 1ET
Date and time: 7:45pm UK time, Tuesday 26th August 2025

Probable lineups for Barnsley vs Rotherham United

This is an interesting game in terms of team selection. Barnsley are going well in the league while Rotherham are struggling, but that all goes out of the window in the cup. Here’s how we think they’ll line up.

Barnsley

Line up: M Cooper, T Watson, J Shepherd, C Barrett, N Ogbeta, L Connell, P Kelly, C Vickers, A Phillips, D Keillor-Dunn, D McGoldrick

Injuries/suspensions: J Earl, M Roberts (both injured)

Coach: Conor Hourihane

Rotherham United

Line up: C Dawson, J Rafferty, S Raggett, R James, L Kelly, D Hall, J Powell, D Gore, M Kaleta, M Sherif, J Hugill

Injuries/suspensions: None

Coach: Matt Hamshaw