CHELTENHAM TOWN (AWAY), Checkatrade Trophy Round Three, Tuesday 17 January 2017, kick off 7:45pm
The Bantams travel south to Gloucestershire this Tuesday for their Checkatrade Trophy round three encounter with Sky Bet League Two side Cheltenham Town.
Both sides go into the tie knowing that the winners will face an away match at Oxford United in the quarter-finals next week, moving them just two games away from a Wembley final in the process.
City have already faced League Two opposition twice in this competition this season.
Stuart McCall's men lost out 3-2 at Morecambe in their final group game but defeated Cambridge United 1-0 at the Northern Commercials Stadium in round two.
Cheltenham booked their spot in round three with a comprehensive 6-1 home victory over Leicester City U21s earlier this month.
Team News
Cheltenham Town
The Robins will be without the cup-tied trio of Alex Pike, Scott Brown and Carl Winchester for the visit of the Bantams.
Asa Hall is sidelined with an Achilles injury.
Amari Morgan-Smith and Dan Parslow are also unavailable having recently both joined York City on loan.
Bradford City
Influential attacker Billy Clarke is likely to make his return from injury at some point during the tie at Cheltenham's LCI Rail Stadium.
Clarke has previously been sidelined for just over two months with a troublesome calf injury.
James Meredith has been passed fit to play despite taking a whack to his ankle late on at Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
Filipe Morais is still ruled out with a calf problem, while Alex Jones and Alex Gilliead are cup-tied.
Previous Encounters
The two sides last met at Cheltenham over three and a half years ago on the final day of the regular campaign for the 2012/2013 season.
With both sides heading into the play-offs at that stage, the game finished goalless.
The Bantams' two previous visits to Cheltenham ended in 3-1 and 4-0 losses respectively, although City's most recent victory away to the Robins was certainly a cracker.
Under the guidance of Stuart McCall during his first spell in charge of the club, the Bantams secured a memorable 5-4 win in August 2009.
Last Time Out
Accrington Stanley 0
Cheltenham Town 3 (Wright 55, De Girolamo 74, Waters 78)
Sky Bet League Two
Saturday 14 January 2017
CHELTENHAM TOWN LINE UP: Brown, Onariase, Boyle, O'Shaughnessy, Pike, Winchester (Storer 81), Rowe (Munns 81), Cranston, Waters, Wright, De Girolamo (Dayton 85)
Subs not used: Kitscha, Barthram, Downes, Holman
Previous Round
Cheltenham Town 6 (De Girolamo 9, 36, 87, O'Shaughnessy 31, Pell 65, Morgan-Smith 79)
Checkatrade Trophy Round Two
Tuesday 10 January 2017
Leicester City 1 (Kapustka 10)
CHELTENHAM TOWN LINE UP: Kitscha, Onariase, Boyle, O'Shaughnessy, Barthram, Rowe (Munns 73), Pell, Cranston, Waters (Dayton 73), De Girolamo, Wright (Morgan-Smith 73)
Subs not used: Storer, Downes, Parslow, Clayton
City's kit colours: BLACK/AMBER/AMBER
Ticket News
City supporters will be able to pay on the day at Cheltenham for this evening's match.
Admission prices will be:
Adults: £5.00
Under 18s & Seniors (Over 65): £3.00
City supporters can contact Cheltenham Town's ticket office on 01242 573558 (Option 1) for further details.
Away fans are allocated the Hazlewoods Stand at the LCI Rail Stadium. This particular stand is located behind one of the goals.
Stadium Details
Cheltenham Town's full address is:
Cheltenham Town
LCI Rail Stadium
Whaddon Road
Cheltenham
Gloucestershire
GL52 5NA
Further information on the LCI Rail Stadium can be found
HERE.
Match Official: BRENDAN MALONE
Mr Malone has officiated twenty-two games so far this season.
The Wiltshire-based referee has took charge of games mainly in League One and League Two this campaign.
His most recent match involving City was the club's 2-2 draw away at Chesterfield back in April 2013.
Checkatrade Trophy
Supporters are reminded that tonight's tie will go straight to penalties should scores be level after normal time.
There will be no extra time period or replay.
Both sides can named seven substitutes on their bench, although their starting line-ups must also include five out of their top eleven starters in league and cup so far this season.
Back the Bantams with Sky Bet
City supporters can back Stuart McCall's Bantams with Sky Bet when they travel to Cheltenham Town this Tuesday.
.5/2 to defeat Cheltenham and secure their progression into the quarter-finals of the Checkatrade Trophy. The draw after ninety minutes is currently priced at 21/20McCall's men are available at
to score the opening goal.11/2, while the returning Billy Clarke is also currently at 13/2The Bantams can be backed to win 1-0 at
to score at anytime throughout the match.4/1After scoring the winner for City in the previous round, Nicky Law is
.www.skybet.com
City fans can place their bets for the Cheltenham match by clicking on the following link -
There are as many as 70 different betting options with Sky Bet for Tuesday's tie.
Please note, all odds are subject to change.
For those unable to get to the LCI Rail Stadium on Tuesday evening, City supporters can follow live updates from the Cheltenham Town fixture via the club's official Facebook and Twitter pages.Coverage
Full audio match commentary of the Cheltenham match can be found via Bantams Player HD. Join Pulse 2's Jon Francis for match action and reaction from the game.
Bantams Player HD is also the place for post-match interviews from McCall and his players, plus extended match highlights over the coming days.
Supporters can subscribe to Bantams Player HD for as little as £4.49 per month.
The official website, Twitter and Facebook pages will also have post-match reaction from the City camp following the Cheltenham game.
Bantams Player HD -
HERE
Facebook -
HERETwitter -
HERE