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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%
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Stevenage's Dean Campbell celebrates scoring their second goal on January 8, 2023
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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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