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Walsall
League Two | Gameweek 29
Mar 7, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
The Banks's Stadium
Bradford City

Walsall
0 - 0
Bradford


Daniels (90')
FT

Stubbs (61'), Halliday (69'), Smallwood (87')

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

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

The League Two season continues in midweek as promotion-chasing Bradford City travel to mid-table Walsall on Tuesday night.

The hosts were beaten 1-0 at home to Barrow on Saturday, whilst the Yorkshire side secured a 2-0 win over Colchester United at the University of Bradford Stadium.

Walsall sit in 14th ahead of the meeting with City and their visitors are fifth in the League Two table.


Match preview

Walsall's manager Michael Flynn applauds fans before the match on January 8, 2023© Reuters

Michael Flynn's Walsall cannot buy three points at the moment - the loss to Barrow at the weekend was the 10th game in a row that the West Midlanders have failed to win.

Prior to the defeat last time out the Saddlers had drawn six successive matches, a run which has left them firmly in the bottom half of League Two.

Walsall also have a dreadful recent record against Tuesday night's opponents, as they have won only one of their last 13 clashes with the Bantams.

Flynn's side are looking to avoid losing both league games against City for the first time since 1988-89 following a 2-1 reverse at the University of Bradford Stadium in September.

The return of striker Danny Johnson to his parent club Mansfield Town in January was a huge blow for Walsall, as the striker scored 15 goals in 30 appearances for the Saddlers and could possibly have spearheaded a promotion charge had he stayed on loan for the rest of the season.

Mark Hughes in charge of Stoke City on May 13, 2018© Reuters

Mark Hughes's Bradford are loving life right now - they have lost just one of their last eight games and have claimed maximum points in five of their last six fixtures.

Fifth-placed City are now only three points behind Stevenage in the last automatic promotion place after three successive victories, the latest of which came against Colchester on Saturday.

The Bantams' ambitions this season have been built on terrific form on the road, as they are joint-top of the away league table in terms of wins having recorded nine in their 17 matches.

The West Yorkshire outfit have won the last three on their travels and are looking to win 10 such games for the first time since 1998-99 when they were promoted to the Premier League.

Andy Cook has led Bradford's charge up the table recently, as the striker has scored six times in his last seven. The 32-year-old has also netted on three ocacasions in this fixture having spent one season at Walsall in 2018-19, and he will need to maintain his form if the Bantams are to reach League One.

Walsall League Two form:

Bradford City League Two form:


Team News

Walsall's Conor Wilkinson could start upfront on Tuesday after returning from a knee injury as a substitute against Colchester.

Liam Gordon, Jacob Maddox and Robbie Willmott are also pushing for starting berths after they each came off the bench on Saturday.

Tom Knowles should keep his place in the number 10 role of Flynn's 3-4-1-2 system despite failing to add to his goals or assists numbers last time out.

The Bantams will be without Jamie Walker who has a knee injury, so Harry Chapman could replace him in the attacking midfield position just behind forwards Cook and Dara Costelloe.

Adam Clayton, Richard Smallwood and Alex Gilliead should all retain their spots in the 11 despite all three of them being substituted in the previous match.

Walsall possible starting lineup:
Evans; McEntee, Monthe, Daniels; Willmott, Maddox, Comely, Gordon; Knowles; Wilkinson, Hutchinson

Bradford City possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Halliday, Platt, Stubbs, Ridehalgh; Smallwood, Clayton, Gilliead; Chapman; Cook, Costelloe


SM words green background

We say: Walsall 0-2 Bradford City

Bradford have their sights set firmly on the top three and their fantastic away form combined with Walsall's awful recent results means there should only be one winner here.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


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


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Written by
Ollie Hawthorn

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Game History

How you voted: Walsall vs Bradford

Walsall
24.2%
Draw
9.1%
Bradford City
66.7%
33
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Stevenage's Dean Campbell celebrates scoring their second goal on January 8, 2023
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Walsall31196659342563
2AFC Wimbledon30167743202355
3Bradford CityBradford31159740281254
4Notts County30158747291853
5Port Vale30141063932752
6Doncaster RoversDoncaster3115794539652
7Crewe AlexandraCrewe32121373631549
8Salford City3113993830848
9Grimsby Town31153134447-348
10Chesterfield301191049371242
11Bromley31101294140142
12Colchester UnitedColchester3091473530541
13Cheltenham TownCheltenham30118114043-341
14Fleetwood TownFleetwood301010103936340
15Newport CountyNewport31117134147-640
16MK Dons31116144444039
17Swindon TownSwindon32911124648-238
18BarrowBarrow31107143436-237
19Gillingham3097142633-734
20Harrogate TownHarrogate3296172642-1633
21Accrington StanleyAccrington3079143448-1430
22Tranmere RoversTranmere31610152249-2728
23Morecambe3175192948-1926
24Carlisle UnitedCarlisle3157192349-2622


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