Tuesday’s football tips: Cardiff a decent 6/5 to win the first half in League One tussle with Barnsley

Fahad Umar
January 26, 2026
2:25 pm

It’s a busy night in the EFL and League One leaders Cardiff City should be too strong for mid-table Barnsley as they look to take another step towards the title.

The Bluebirds are flying under Brian Barry-Murphy and lead the way at the summit thanks to a seven-game unbeaten run.

But they did drop two points at home to Stockport on Saturday and that will give Barnsley some hope as they bid to upset the leaders.

Cardiff City vs Barnsley top betting tips

Barnsley plummeted down the table after a terrible run that saw them take just one point from four League One games but they’ve got back in track in the last couple of weeks.

The Tykes have beaten Blackpool and drawn with Reading in their last two matches but are still 19/5 outsiders at Ladbrokes tonight.

Cardiff are 4/6 favourites with most firms and that seems fair enough given they had won eight in a row at home in League One before that Stockport stalemate.

Adding on over 2.5 goals boosts their odds to 6/5 with Bet365, who also offer the same odds on the Bluebirds winning the first half.

BTTS has landed in the last four for Barnsley, including in the FA Cup at Anfield, so combining BTTS and over 2.5 goals could pay off at 19/20 with Coral.

Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.

St Pauli vs RB Leipzig

St Pauli sit second bottom of the Bundesliga and desperately need to get some more points on the board when RB Leipzig come calling tonight.

The Pirates managed to stay up last term after winning promotion but look doomed the drop unless they can turn their season around.

Friday’s derby stalemate with Hamburg made it four games without a win so it’s hard to hold out much hope for St Pauli against fifth-placed Leipzig.

Ole Werner’s side aren’t in great form themselves, losing three of their last five, but did ease to a 3-0 win away to rock-bottom Heidenheim on Saturday.

RB Leipzig are a best 7/8 at Unibet for the win and adding on over 1.5 goals boosts the odds to 23/20 at Bet365.

Norwegian winger Antonio Nusa could get some joy against a St Pauli side that conceded three times against Dortmund last week. He’s 9/5 at BetMGM for a goal or assist and that looks decent value after he scored in Heidenheim.

Fiorentina vs Como

We’re into the last 16 in the Coppa Italia and there’s an intriguing tie tonight as Fiorentina host Como.

Cesc Fabregas’ side head into this tie with their tails up after smashing nine goals without reply in their last two Serie A games with Lazio and Torino.

Fiorentina, in stark contrast, lost 2-1 at home to Cagliari on Saturday but their form had been decent before that, going four unbeaten.

With La Viola having home advantage, this is a tough one to call but Como are favourites at 7/5, with Fiorentina as big as 21/10 at Paddy Power.

A lot will depend on how seriously each manager treats the cup but those odds on the home win look decent. Fiorentina are also a decent 11/10 at SkyBet to win either half.

We should see goals, given Como have scored nine in their last two and BTTS has landed in the last four for Fiorentina. Combining BTTS and over 2.5 goals pays 11/8 at SkyBet.