Bradford City will welcome Port Vale to Northern Commercials Stadium on Thursday, as both teams aim to treat their fans to some festive cheer in a Boxing Day League Two encounter.
The Valiants, currently enduring a five-match winless run in the league, will be hoping that their recent dominance in this fixture works in their favour when the two sides step onto the pitch.
Match preview
© Imago
Bradford City began their sixth consecutive season in League Two after narrowly missing out on the playoffs by just one point last term.
After 20 matches this campaign, the Bantams find themselves three points adrift of the final playoff spot, sitting 12th in the table with 28 points to their name.
Graham Alexander, who celebrated his one-year anniversary as Bradford manager last month, will hope his team can quickly recover from their latest setback – a 3-0 defeat to Notts County that ended their four-match unbeaten league run.
However, history suggests Thursday's clash could be a challenging one, as the hosts have failed to beat Port Vale in their last five encounters, suffering three defeats and two draws.
Adding to the challenge, the Bantams have a poor Boxing Day record, winning just one of their last seven league fixtures on this festive date, and facing the league's best-performing away side this season only compounds the difficulty.
That said, Bradford can draw strength from their impressive home form, with the Bantams having lost just one of their nine home league matches, winning five including their most recent outing at Northern Commercials Stadium where they defeated Swindon.
© Imago
Meanwhile, Port Vale's push for an immediate return to League One has hit a stumbling block in recent weeks, with the Valiants going five league games without a win.
This run includes four draws and a single defeat, underscored by an alarming lack of goals, failing to score in their last three league matches, a drought that includes a 1-0 loss to Walsall, and goalless stalemates against Bromley and Carlisle.
Despite their recent struggles, Port Vale remain second in the table with 37 points from 21 matches. However, their grip on an automatic promotion spot is under threat, with Crewe Alexandra – the first team outside the top three – just two points behind and boasting a game in hand.
Port Vale have been formidable on the road, averaging more points away from home, and have recorded twice as many clean sheets on the road than on their ground - all of which will further boost their confidence when they visit a stadium where they won the last trip.
Team News
© Imago
Bradford City have just one injury worry heading into this clash, with right-back Callum Johnson still injured and expected to remain sidelined for some time.
Andy Cook, who has carried Bradford's goalscoring burden this season, netting 10 goals in 19 League Two outings, will lead the line, while Bobby Pointon and Calum Kavanagh will provide support for the talisman.
Port Vale, on the other hand, have no injury or suspension concerns ahead of Thursday's affair, leaving manager Darren Moore with an opportunity to tinker his team.
The 50-year-old manager has rotated his attackers in recent games, sharing the role between Jayden Stockley, Ethan Chislett and Ronan Curtis, but he is likely to stick with either or both of the first two, giving that they are joint-top for league goals scored in the team, having netted four each.
Bradford City possible starting lineup:
Walker; Huntington, Shepherd, Baldwin; Benn, Evans, Smallwood, Richards; Kavanagh, Pointon; Cook
Port Vale possible starting lineup:
Ripley; Debrah, Heneghan, Hall; John, Harper, Croasdale, Hart; Richards; Curtis, Stockley
We say: Bradford City 1-1 Port Vale
Bradford's recent form has been inconsistent, while they also have a poor record against Port Vale. However, Vale have drawn frequently in recent times, highlighting both their defensive solidity and struggles in attack, which is why we feel that a draw is the likely result that will play out here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
