The action continues in round 41 of League Two as Bradford City and Tranmere Rovers go head to head at the University of Bradford Stadium on Friday.
Both sides are currently level on points in the table and will be looking to make a late charge for the playoff places in the final weeks of the season.
Match preview
Bradford City's hopes of securing a playoff spot suffered a fresh blow last Saturday when they fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Harrogate Town.
Goals from Josh March, George Thomson and an own goal from 21-year-old Daniel Oyegoke saw the Sulphurites cruise to a comfortable victory at the EnviroVent Stadium.
Graham Alexander's men have now lost each of their last four matches since claiming a 3-0 victory over Accrington Stanley on March 9 thanks to a first-half brace from Tyreik Wright and Andy Cook's 38th-minute effort.
The Bantams' drop-off in form has been owing to their recent struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 13 goals in their last four matches, while they have failed to find the back of the net in three of those four games.
While Bradford will be looking to stop the rot and return to winning ways this weekend, recent results at home offer little optimism as they have failed to win any of their last five games at the University of Bradford Stadium in all competitions, losing four and claiming one draw since picking up consecutive victories over MK Dons and Sutton United in February.
Tranmere Rovers, on the other hand, were sent crashing back down to earth last time out as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Crawley Town when the sides squared off at Prenton Park.
Luke Norris pulled one back for the hosts after Crawley raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 10 minutes thanks to Jeremy Kelly and Jay Williams, but Danilo Orsi-Dadomo struck in the 79th minute to restore the visitors' two-goal advantage.
Prior to that, Nigel Adkins' men were on a four-match unbeaten run, picking up three wins and one draw while scoring five goals and keeping two clean sheets since the start of March.
Tranmere have now lost 20 of their 40 League Two matches so far while claiming 15 wins and five draws to collect 50 points and sit 15th in the league table, level on points with Friday's hosts and nine points adrift of the playoff places.
Team News
Branford City will take to the pitch without 26-year-old midfielder Alex Pattison, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a severe injury back in December.
Experienced forward Alex Gilliead missed the game against Harrogate last time out and the 28-year-old is a major doubt for this weekend's matchup.
With his strike against Harrogate, Norris has now scored in back-to-back matches and we expect the former Brentford striker to spearhead the Bantams' attack once again.
Meanwhile, Tranmere will have to cope without 21-year-old defender Jake Leake, who has been sidelined since picking up a severe injury against Mansfield Town in November.
Tom Davies has missed each of the Whites' last three games since coming off injured against Sutton on March 2 and is a major doubt for Friday's game.
Bradford City possible starting lineup:
S Walker; Ridehalgh, Platt, Oyegoke; Richards, McDonald, Smallwood, Halliday; Wright, J Walker, Cook
Tranmere Rovers possible starting lineup:
McGee; O'Connor, Yarney, Turnbull, Wood; Apter, Walker, Hendry, Morris; Jennings, Norris
We say: Bradford City 1-1 Tranmere Rovers
Bradford City have run out of steam at the business end of the season and will head into the weekend in search of a pick-me-up. However, we predict that Tranmere will do just enough to force a share of the spoils at the University of Bradford Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
