Bradford City host Accrington Stanley at the Northern Commercials Stadium this Saturday in a big weekend of League Two football. Each side sit in different halves of the table and need a win to push for safety or for a place in the Play-offs respectively.
Bradford City currently sit 19th in League Two after 18 games. The Bantams have five wins, five draws and eight losses which leaves them on 20 points, six points above the relegation zone.
In their last five games in all competitions, Bradford have two wins and three losses. In the Football League Trophy, Bradford hosted Manchester City’s U21 team. Tyler Smith grabbed a first half hat-trick in the 3 - 0 win for Bradford despite having only 40% of the possession. In the First round of the FA Cup, Bradford hosted Wycombe. A goal from Killian Phillips and an own goal from Sam Stubbs gave Wycombe an early 2 - 0 lead. Though a goal from Jamie Walker got Bradford back into the game, it wasn’t enough as Wycombe grabbed the 2 - 1 win.
Back in League Two Bradford hosted Barrow. Dom Telford opened the scoring in the first minute but Smith levelled the game before halftime. However, George Ray popped up with a goal for Barrow in the 77th minute to give Barrow the 2 - 1 win, even with just 34% of the possession. Another loss came Bradford’s way against Notts County. Alex Gilliead and Walker did manage to get Bradford on the scoresheet, but goals from David McGoldrick and Daniel Crowley and a brace from Macaulay Langstaff gave Notts County the 4 - 2 win.
The last time out from Bradford was against Barnsley in the Football League Trophy. Matthew Platt, Andy Cook, Smith, Lewis Richard and Clarke Oduor all scored in the 5 - 1 thrashing of ten-man Barnsley who had Jack Shepherd sent off late on.
Accrington Stanley, on the other hand, sit seventh. In 18 games, Accrington have nine wins, two draws and seven losses, leaving them on 29 points. This also leaves them two points behind Barrow in the final Play-off place.
In their last five games in all competitions, Accrington have one win, one draw and three losses. In the First round of the FA Cup, an own goal from Kelvin Mellor gave Doncaster the early lead, a lead that took over an hour for Accrington to reply to. Shaun Whalley got Accrington level but just seven minutes later Doncaster were back ahead through Harrison Biggins. However, a late goal from Seamus Conneely rescued a 2 - 2 draw for Accrington. Jack Nolan opened the scoring in the second minute, but after a red card to Bradley Hills Accrington were open. Danilo Orsi grabbed a brace and was joined on the scoresheet by Will Wright in the 3 - 1 win for Crawley.
The replay of the Doncaster clash saw an extra time win for Doncaster as Joe Ironside scored in the 101st minute to grab the 2 - 1 win. Back in League Two, Accrington took on Wrexham. A Tommy Leigh penalty and a goal from Rosaire Longelo gave Accrington the shock 2 - 0 win.
The most recent outing for Accrington was against Nottingham Forest’s U21 team in the Football League Trophy. Korede Adedoyin’s goal was a consolation as Accrington lost 2 - 1.
Bradford against Accrington Stanley is a relatively new fixture, only happening 18 times, the first meeting coming back in 2004. Accrington have the better record in the fixture with eight wins in comparison to Bradford’s five wins, with the other five games ending in a draw.