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Bradford City
League Two | Gameweek 39
Mar 26, 2022 at 3pm UK
Valley Parade
Newport County

Bradford
0 - 0
Newport


O'Connor (68')
FT

Telford (67'), Street (68')

Preview: Bradford City vs. Newport County - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's League Two clash between Bradford City and Newport County, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Both aiming to bounce back from defeats suffered last weekend, Bradford City and Newport County will square off at Valley Parade on Saturday.

The visitors dropped to sixth place in the League Two table after their loss to Hartlepool United last time out but remain just a single point behind the automatic promotion places.


Match preview

Nottingham Forest's Cafu in action with Bradford City's Elliot Watt, August 11, 2021© Reuters

After a dismal run of form in February left them 12th in League Two, after hoping for a promotion push at the beginning of the season, Bradford City made the decision to dismiss manager Derek Adams, with former Manchester City and Stoke City boss Mark Hughes now at the helm.

He was initially unable to stop the rot, overseeing defeats to Mansfield Town and Swindon Town in his first two games, before the Bantams were finally able to put an end to a five-game losing run with an eye-catching 2-0 victory away at league leaders Forest Green Rovers.

They built on that with another impressive win, defeating Hartlepool United away from home by the same scoreline, thanks to goals from Matty Foulds and Yann Songo'o, but were unable to make it three wins on the bounce last weekend.

Hughes's men hosted Port Vale most recently, and, despite Charles Vernam pulling a goal back with 20 minutes to go, they eventually fell to a 2-1 defeat at Valley Parade.

Having dropped as low as 15th following that defeat, the Yorkshire outfit will be desperate to climb towards a higher mid-table finish with a return to winning ways at the weekend.

They meet a Newport side also desperate to bounce back from a loss, with the visitors involved in a heated battle for promotion.

The Exiles improved their claim for an automatic climb to England's third tier with a run of three straight victories at the beginning of March, firstly defeating Bristol Rovers and Stevenage before goals from Mickey Demetriou and Finn Azaz saw them leave Carlisle United with an impressive 2-1 win.

However, James Rowberry's side were unable to extend their winning run last time out, eventually falling to a 3-2 defeat in a dramatic contest with Hartlepool as Rob Street's equaliser was quickly followed by a decisive 73rd-minute goal from Neil Byrne.

That saw them fall to sixth spot, but, with three teams winning automatic promotion and just one point between themselves and third-placed Northampton Town, they could quickly climb back into an enviable position with a win in Yorkshire.

Bradford City League Two form:
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • L

Newport County League Two form:
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L



Team News

Bradford City's line will be led by Andy Cook, who has netted 11 League One goals so far this term, while Bolton Wanderers loanee Nathan Delfouneso was drafted in to support the front man last time out.

Winger Charles Vernam will be vying to feature from the start after his goal off the bench in the last match, while midfielder Jamie Walker is also pushing to break into the XI.

Paudie O'Connor and Yann Songo'o have built an established partnership at the heart of a back four, and that should remain unchanged with Matty Foulds and Luke Hendrie playing either side.

The Bantams will have to watch out for Newport forward Dom Telford, who leads the league's scoring charts with 24 goals in just 29 appearances this term.

Exciting prospect Finn Azaz will likely support the front two of Telford and Rob Street, with Matt Dolan and Scot Bennett anchoring at the base of midfield.

Bradford City possible starting lineup:
Bass; Hendrie, Songo'o, O'Connor, Foulds; Evans, Cooke; Pereira, Delfouneso, Vernam; Cook

Newport County possible starting lineup:
Day; Norman, Clarke, Demetriou, Haynes; Bennett, Dolan; Cooper, Azaz; Street, Telford


SM words green background

We say: Bradford City 1-2 Newport County

With both sides keen to bounce back to winning ways, this could certainly be a hotly-contested affair.

Given their quality over the course of the season and the need for three points in the promotion race, we just give the edge to the visitors, who will be vying to climb back into the top three.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



ID:481568:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect8684:
Written by
Sam Varley

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newport County win with a probability of 42.55%. A win for Bradford City had a probability of 29.44% and a draw had a probability of 28%.

The most likely scoreline for a Newport County win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.82%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.41%) and 0-2 (8.25%). The likeliest Bradford City win was 1-0 (10.16%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.07%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 10% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Bradford vs Newport

Bradford City
14.3%
Draw
20.0%
Newport County
65.7%
35
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Walsall27184552282458
2Doncaster RoversDoncaster2814774031949
3Notts County27138643271647
4Bradford CityBradford27138638271147
5Crewe AlexandraCrewe281211535241147
6AFC Wimbledon26136738201845
7Port Vale2712963328545
8Salford City2712783124743
9Chesterfield27109843311239
10Grimsby Town28123133845-739
11MK Dons27115114138338
12Fleetwood TownFleetwood269983531436
13Bromley2781183635135
14Cheltenham TownCheltenham2798103639-335
15Colchester UnitedColchester2771373028234
16Swindon TownSwindon29810113843-534
17Gillingham2695122427-332
18BarrowBarrow2787122731-431
19Accrington StanleyAccrington2678113343-1029
20Harrogate TownHarrogate2985162440-1629
21Newport CountyNewport2676133446-1227
22Tranmere RoversTranmere2768132043-2326
23Carlisle UnitedCarlisle2756162141-2021
24Morecambe2755172242-2020


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