BIG MATCH PREVIEW | SOUTHEND UNITED (HOME)

27 April 2018

After Tuesday's victory over Milton Keynes Dons, Simon Grayson's Bantams return to the Northern Commercials Stadium on Saturday (28 April 2018) for their penultimate home fixture of the season against Southend United.

The midweek win against MK Dons means that City still have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the end-of-season play-offs with three matches of the regular league campaign to go.

Grayson's men head into this Saturday's encounter unbeaten in their last four matches.

They have also won three out of their last four fixtures on home soil.

Despite, in theory, having nothing but pride to play for, opponents Southend head into this weekend's game at Valley Parade in good form.

The Shrimpers are twelfth in the league after two impressive victories in recent days.

Southend defeated MK Dons last weekend 4-0 at Roots Hall. They then backed that up with a 3-0 success at Oldham Athletic on Tuesday night.

Team News

Bradford City
Tyrell Robinson is expected to be miss out again due to a shoulder injury picked up earlier this month.

Jake Reeves (groin) and Alex Jones (ankle) are ruled out for the season, while Ryan McGowan (knee) is also expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.

Southend United
Shrimpers boss Chris Powell could look to make changes despite Tuesday's convincing victory at Oldham.

Michael Kightly and Marc-Antoine Fortune could earn recalls, but experienced defensive duo Ben Coker (hamstring) and Michael Turner (thigh) are expected to be miss out.

Goalkeeper Ted Smith (shoulder) and former Bantams loanee Rob Kiernan (knee) are also likely to be sidelined for the trip to Valley Parade.

Earlier this season

Saturday 16 December 2017
Sky Bet League One
Southend United 1 (Ranger 75)
Bradford City 2 (Poleon 9, Wyke pen 90)

SOUTHEND UNITED LINE UP:
Oxley, Demetriou, White, Turner, Coker, Wright, Leonard (s/o 89), Timlin (McGlashan 69), McLaughlin, Ranger (Ba 86), Wordsworth (Fortune 63)

Subs not used: Bishop, Yearwood, Kyprianou, Wabo

BRADFORD CITY LINE UP:
Sattelmaier, McMahon, Knight-Percival (Thompson 59), Kilgallon, Robinson, Gilliead, Vincelot, Law, Taylor (Reeves 46), Poleon (McCartan 77), Wyke

Subs not used: Raeder, Dieng, Hendrie, Patrick

Previously at the Northern Commercials Stadium

Tuesday 18 October 2016
Sky Bet League One
Bradford City 1 (McNulty 36)
Southend United 1 (Wordsworth 54)

BRADFORD CITY LINE UP:
Doyle, Darby, Vincelot, Knight-Percival, Kilgallon, Marshall, McNulty (Hiwula 71), Law, Cullen (Hanson 70), McArdle, Vuckic (Morais 81)

Subs not used: Sattelmaier, N Clarke, Dieng, B Clarke

SOUTHEND UNITED LINE UP:
Oxley, Demetriou, Ferdinand, Thompson, Coker, Atkinson, Leonard, Wordsworth, McLaughlin (McGlashan 68), Cox (Mooney 81), Ranger (Fortune 88)

Subs not used: Smith, King, White, Inniss

Tickets
Supporters can find out match ticket details for this game. Please click HERE.

Win The Shirt Off My Back
City's match-day raffle returns this Saturday. For more information on how to win the Man of the Match's actual match-worn shirt from the Southend game, please click HERE.

Bucket Collection
Volunteers will be in position in and around the ground on Saturday to help with a bucket collection for the PSBRU (Bradford Burns Unit). For more information on the club's memorial plans for this season's final home matches, please click HERE.

Banqueting Changes
Details of changes to be made in the hospitality areas for Saturday's fixture - HERE.

Manager's pre-match thoughts
Watch sections of Simon Grayson's pre-match interview below:

The FULL pre-match interview with Grayson can be found on iFollow Bantams - HERE.

Back the Bantams
City are currently priced at 13/10 to defeat Southend United at the Northern Commercials Stadium.

The Bantams are also priced at 10/1 to beat Southend by a 2-0 scoreline.

Charlie Wyke is available at 4/1 to opening the scoring, while Nathaniel Knight-Percival can be backed at 13/2 to score at anytime during the game.

Fans can place their bets now with Sky Bet by clicking HERE.

Please note, odds are subject to change.

Coverage
For those unable to get to Northern Commercials Stadium on Saturday, City supporters can follow live updates from the Southend United game via the club's official website, plus Facebook and Twitter pages.

City's Facebook and Twitter pages will include game updates on match-day, while the 'Match Centre' on the official website will give supporters all the stats, news and in-game action.

Full audio match commentary of the Southend match can be found via iFollow Bantams. Keep up to date with BBC Radio Leeds' Tim Steere for match action and reaction from the game.

Subscribers of iFollow Bantams will now actually be able to hear post-match interviews from Simon Grayson and the players directly after the game via the extended audio match-day service.

New for this season, iFollow subscribers outside the UK and Ireland will also be able to watch LIVE coverage of the match as it happens!

Video post-match interviews from Simon Grayson and his players, plus extended match highlights over the coming days, are also available via iFollow.

On top of all that, iFollow subscribers can get interviews, action, previous encounters and highlights as well in the build up to Saturday's match.

The official website, Twitter and Facebook pages will also have post-match reaction from the City camp following the Southend game.

iFollow Bantams - HERE
Match Centre - HERE
Facebook - HERE
Twitter - HERE

Match Previews

Match Reports

REPORT | CITY LEFT FRUSTRATED BY SOUTHEND LOSS

28 April 2018

Simon Grayson's Bantams were left to rue what might have been after falling to defeat against Southend United in their penultimate home fixture of the campaign.

After going close on more than one occasion with the game still goalless, City then conceded two second half goals in the final quarter of the match to condemn them to defeat.

Dominic Poleon - a first half substitute for the injured Kai Bruenker - was denied in two goal-mouth scrambles either side of the break before Southend opened the scoring.

The Shrimpers broke the deadlock thirteen minutes from the end when skipper John White guided a header into the corner from a testing Stephen McLaughlin cross.

With City pushing for a leveller, Southend then doubled their advantage on the break just five minutes later.

After a surging run forward, Dru Yearwood fed the ball out to Marc-Antoine Fortune, who saw his side-footed effort from inside the box deflect up off Nathaniel Knight-Percival and loop into the net over the helpless Colin Doyle.

After Tuesday's home victory over Milton Keynes Dons, Grayson unsurprisingly kept with the same starting XI for the visit of Southend to the Northern Commercials Stadium.

Grayson was sadly forced into a change soon enough, however, when Bruenker went down in agony after appearing to twist his ankle when landing after a header.

Bruenker had to be stretchered off after receiving treatment on the pitch, with Poleon coming on as his replacement.

The loss of the German striker initially didn't seem to effect the Bantams, who went close minutes later when Callum Guy had an effort from outside the box tipped around the post.

Southend did have their moments in the first period - Fortune firing dangerously across goal ten minutes before the break - but City looked the more likely scorers as the game moved nearer to the interval.

Quick thinking from Tony McMahon at a free-kick a minute before the end of regulation time in the opening period saw him play Alex Gilliead into space inside the box.

Gilliead picked out Poleon in the middle but the striker's flick for goal from only yards out was scrambled away.

There was still time in the period for Gilliead to set up Poleon again but the unmarked striker headed over in the fourth minute of first half injury time.

Two minutes after the break and City were threatening again.

McMahon's low corner delivery out to Matthew Lund gave the midfielder the chance to shoot for goal from the edge of the box.

Nathaniel Knight-Percival managed to get his head onto Lund's shot forwards but the defender's effort dropped just past Oxley's near post.

Another set-piece roughly ten minutes would see Grayson's men go even closer.

From McMahon's wide free-kick delivery into the box, Timothee Dieng saw a goal-bound header well saved by Oxley.

City still looked set to score as the ball ran loose deep inside the Southend box, but Oxley somehow got across to crawl a strike from Poleon off the line.

Southend tried to respond with chances of their own but White saw an effort from a McLaughlin corner blocked behind by Knight-Percival.

An unmarked Sam Mantom then hooked wide from McLaughlin's follow-up set-piece delivery to the near post.

With the game still in the balance going into the final twenty minutes, Alex Gilliead - who was constant threat to Southend on City's right flank - did brilliantly to get away from Elvis Bwomono and Mantom to engineer himself enough space for a cross.

Gilliead's ball into the six yard box was a testing one, but it was unfortunately just out of the reach of Matthew Lund in the middle.

At the other end, Colin Doyle's first meaningful save of the match came soon after.

Fortune set up Mantom via a pass from the right towards the edge of the box but the midfielder's low drive was tipped around the post by Doyle.

Southend were able to keep the pressure on from the resulting corner, though, leading to City conceding the opening goal.

With White still up from the set-piece, McLaughlin curled the ball back into the box and the defender headed home.

Grayson tried to force a change in City's fortunes by bringing on Nicky Law for Poleon just after Southend's goal celebrations had died down.

Before City could truly muster up a response, however, Southend hit them on the break to claim a killer second goal.

Yearwood burst forward on the counter-attack, eventually feeding the ball to Fortune inside the box.

Knight-Percival came across to make the block but Fortune's strike looped up off the defender's leg and over Doyle on its way into the goal.

The Bantams kept going until the end but Guy and Charlie Wyke couldn't find the target with chances.

Simon Cox fired over with a strike in injury time, but the final opening of the game fell to the Bantams when sub Shay McCartan headed at Oxley following Knight-Percival's cross from the left.

Match Reports

BRADFORD CITY AFC

Standings

BIG MATCH PREVIEW | SOUTHEND UNITED (HOME)

REPORT | CITY LEFT FRUSTRATED BY SOUTHEND LOSS