THE BIG MATCH PREVIEW | Fleetwood Town (H)
FLEETWOOD TOWN (HOME), The Northern Commercials Stadium at Valley Parade, Sky Bet League One, Tuesday 27th September 2016 – kick off 7.45pm
Just a few days after the goalless draw against Phil Parkinson’s Bolton Wanderers side, City are back in league action this Tuesday evening at the Northern Commercials Stadium. Uwe Rösler’s Fleetwood Town are the visitors, looking to pick themselves up from back-to-back league defeats.
After a start to the season which saw the Cod Army up to seventh in the table, a couple of defeats in succession has dropped them down to eleventh in the table but still just two points outside of the top six and three points behind the Bantams, who occupy fourth spot in the league with 15 points from the opening nine fixtures.
At the weekend, Town were dealt a heavy home defeat at the hands of Milton Keynes Dons at Highbury Stadium, with loanee Ryan Colclough scoring a hat-trick for Karl Robinson’s side. Rösler has implemented his own attacking brand of football at Fleetwood following his arrival in the summer after Steven Pressley’s resignation.
The style of play served him particularly well at Brentford and Wigan Athletic and he will be hoping he can get Fleetwood playing successfully in a similar mould.
The Cod Army struggled in League One last season and only survived relegation with a final day victory against Blackpool; they will be hoping to venture into the top half of the table this season, with an eye perhaps on the top six.
Head to Head:
Fleetwood’s rise to prominence only saw them emerge into the Football League in 2012 after winning the Conference National title and therefore the two clubs have only met on six occasions. A Gary Jones free kick secured City victory against Town at Valley Parade in August 2012, the first meeting between the two clubs.
City have yet to be defeated by Fleetwood with three wins and three draws, the other wins coming on Boxing Day 2014, with James Hanson and Filipe Morais’ goals securing a 2-0 victory at Highbury Stadium, and in January, the most recent meeting between the two sides, when goals from Hanson and Steven Davies in the final minutes ensured City took the three points after falling behind to Jamille Matt’s header.
Team News:
Bradford City
Stuart McCall says in his pre-match press interviews that he has no fresh injury worries to think about in the build up to Tuesday's game.
Nicky Law and Josh Cullen were assessed and both passed as fit to be involved this evening after struggling with knocks following the weekend’s fixture.
Nathan Clarke could be named on the bench as he waits to make his first appearance of the season but fellow central defender James King is still ruled out of action through injury.
James Hanson missed the draw at Bolton Wanderers with a calf issue and he is set to miss out once again this evening.
Tony McMahon suffered a fresh injury set-back ahead of the Bolton fixture and he is also set to miss out this evening’s fixture.
Fleetwood Town
Uwe Rösler could ring the changes following a heavy home defeat to Milton Keynes Dons at the weekend.
Loan duo Kyle Dempsey and Chris Long are doubts for this evening’s fixture with injury concerns after both coming off during the MK Dons defeat.
Former Bantam Devante Cole could be given the nod to start after coming off the bench for Ashley Hunter at the weekend.
Should Long miss out, Watford loanee Alex Jakubiak could come in to start in a forward three. Another who could be given the nod to start is Martyn Woolford, the experienced forward arrived on a free transfer from Sheffield United in the August transfer window.
Last Meeting:
Fleetwood Town 1-4 Milton Keynes Dons
Team: Neal, McLaughlin, Pond, Eastham, Bell, Dempsey (Woolford 69), Ryan, Grant, Hunter (Cole 63), Ball, Long
Recent Form: (from left to right)
L L D W W W
Match Referee: Graham Salisbury
City’s Match Kit Colours:CLARET& AMBER/BLACK/BLACK
Betting:
Here are the latest betting odds provided by the English Football League’s official betting partner, Sky Bet:
Bradford City – 3/4
Draw – 13/5
Fleetwood Town – 19/5
The Bantams are priced at 3/4 to take all three points this evening against Fleetwood Town. That means if you stake £10.00, a City win would return £17.50.
City kept a clean sheet at Bolton on Saturday and for a Bradford win to nil the odds are 13/8. Marc McNulty made his first start for the club on Saturday since his arrival on loan from Sheffield United; he can be backed at 5/1 to be the first goal scorer this evening.
Both teams were on the scoresheet in the second half when Fleetwood last visited Valley Parade, in January; for this to happen again you can get odds of 3/1.
To find out more information about the 61 different betting markets open for this game, please visit Sky Bet by clicking HERE.
Please note, odds are subject to change.
Coverage:
You can listen to full match commentary on Bantams Player HD via Pulse 2 Matchday Live with Jason Thornton and Chris Cooper. The pair will also be joined on air by former City defender and current Bradford Park Avenue boss, Mark Bower.
You can also follow our live updates via our official Facebook and Twitter social media channels. On there, we will also bring you post-match reaction from Stuart McCall, with the full interview as always, available on Bantams Player HD.
You can read our full match report on the website also. If you can’t make it to the Northern Commercials Stadium tomorrow, there’s no need to worry we have you covered!