Barnsley v West Brom live stream, Friday 17 December, 7.45pm GMT
West Brom will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run when they face Barnsley on Friday night.
The latest Covid-19 outbreak is beginning to wreak havoc on the fixture list once more. At the time of writing five of this weekend’s scheduled games in the Championship have been postponed. This match at Oakwell is set to go ahead as things stand, but plenty could change in the run-up to kick-off.
West Brom head into the weekend on the back of four-game unbeaten run. Back-to-back goalless draws with Blackpool and Nottingham Forest were frustrating for the Baggies, but they have since won back-to-back matches against Coventry and Reading to climb back up to third place in the table.
A victory over Barnsley would move West Brom level on points with second-placed Bournemouth, at least until the Cherries take to the field against Middlesbrough on Saturday.
West Brom’s promotion push looks set to be built on solid defensive foundations. The Baggies have conceded fewer goals than any other team in the Championship this term, while they have kept three clean sheets in their last four games.
Barnsley have struggled since losing Valerien Ismael to West Brom in the summer. Markus Schopp was installed as Ismael’s replacement before being sacked last month, with Poya Asbaghi taking over. Asbaghi is still searching for his first win in English football, but the situation is already looking a little desperate with the Tykes eight points adrift of safety.
Barnsley will have to make do without Cameron Thompson and Aapo Halme as they attempt to pull off an upset against their promotion-chasing opponents.
West Brom could be missing 10 first-team players at Oakwell. Kenneth Zohore, Robert Snodgrass, Matt Phillips, Kean Bryan and Dara O’Shea are all injured, while Grady Diangana was been missing with illness. Cedric Kipre, Matt Clarke, Conor Townsend and Semi Ajayi have all tested positive for Covid-19.
Kick-off is at 7.45pm GMT on Friday 17 December, and UK viewers can watch live on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event. See below for international broadcast options.
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VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch Premier League football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of Premier League fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch the action without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2021/22.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
DAZN subscribers can watch every single Premier League game in 2021/22 – and it gets better. After a one-month free trial, you'll only have to pay a rolling $20-a-month fee, or make it an annual subscription of $150.
The broadcaster also has all the rights to Champions League and Europa League games in Canada, too.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport are offering every game of the Premier League season for just $14.99/month for non-subscribers, which you can get via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Spark Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League – for $24.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
