MX23RW : Thursday, November 21 17:37:17| >> :600:331177:331177:
[monks data]
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:collect8377:

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.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Bradford vs Newport

Bradford City
14.3%
Draw
20.0%
Newport County
65.7%
35
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Mark Hughes in charge of Stoke City on May 13, 2018
Read Next:
Bradford City appoint Mark Hughes as new manager
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Port Vale1610332416833
2Crewe AlexandraCrewe158431913628
3Doncaster RoversDoncaster168442218428
4Walsall1483327151227
5MK Dons168352719827
6Notts County167632315827
7Grimsby Town168171925-625
8AFC Wimbledon1472523131023
9Bradford CityBradford166552117423
10Gillingham157261612423
11Chesterfield165742920922
12BarrowBarrow166461715222
13Fleetwood TownFleetwood145632015521
14Salford City165651518-321
15Newport CountyNewport166281926-720
16Accrington StanleyAccrington164662226-418
17Cheltenham TownCheltenham165382125-418
18Harrogate TownHarrogate165381422-818
19Tranmere RoversTranmere144551017-717
20Bromley153751719-216
21Colchester UnitedColchester152851822-414
22Swindon TownSwindon162771825-713
23Carlisle UnitedCarlisle1633101429-1512
24Morecambe1624101427-1310


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!