The Voice - Match preview #30: Bradford City vs Peterborough United Saturday 14th February 2026 3:00pm

EFL League One Fixture #30
Saturday 14th February 2026 15:00
Bradford City (5th) vs Peterborough United (10th)
University of Bradford Stadium

Record:
Games Won: 13
Games Drawn: 13
Games Lost: 15

Last 5:
17 Nov 2018: Peterborough United 1 – 1 Bradford City
01 Dec 2018: Peterborough United 2 – 2 Bradford City [FA Cup]
11 Dec 2018: Bradford City 4 – 4 Peterborough United [FA Cup]
09 Mar 2019: Bradford City 3 – 1 Peterborough United
23 Aug 2025: Peterborough United 1 – 1 Bradford City

Peterborough United:
Peterborough United joined the bevvy of sides snapping at the heels of stuttering Bradford City, eager to leapfrog them into a playoff position in the coming weeks. That won’t happen this weekend, however, as despite having seeing off Mansfield Town 2-1 at Field Mill, Peterborough remain a full 5 points behind the Bantams – who also have 2 games in hand on their Cambridgeshire rivals. There is an overall sense of momentum for the Posh, however, despite their mediocre form of 4 wins and 4 defeats across their last 8 league games, especially after smashing 6 past Wigan Athletic last weekend. Back-to-back wins have lifted Peterborough United to 8th in the League One table, albeit they are one of the few sides to have played 31 games (as opposed to City’s 29).

Former Notts County manager Luke Williams has overseen an impressive improvement in form since his appointment in late October, amassing 13 wins, 1 draw and 8 defeats – a win percentage of 59.09 % across all competitions. Looking at league competition in isolation, the Posh have achieved 11 wins, 1 draw and 6 defeats since Williams’ arrival, taking 34 points from a possible 54. If Peterborough United were able to expand that form for a full season, it would leave them on 87 points – which, last season, would have been good enough to finish joint 3rd with Stockport County.

Needless to say, then, things are trending upwards for the Posh, and a run of 5 wins and a draw through December, ending on New Year’s Day, will have certainly helped. It’s a pace Bradford City just haven’t been able to match of late, and that will certainly be a concern this coming Saturday afternoon. Consider that Peterborough United didn’t win any of their opening seven league fixtures, and it’s clear as day the job that Williams and his team have done.

Harry Leonard (10) is the club’s top league goalscorer, with Kyrell Lisbie (9) and Jimmy-Jay Morgan (7) giving him some good company at the top of the charts. Matthew Garbett, Cian Hayes and Gustav Lindgren all have 3, while 8 other players have also made the scoresheet in league competition this season. That kind of firepower far eclipses that of Bradford City, the Posh having netted a full 45 times this campaign, compare to just 37 for the Bantams.

It’s Peterborough’s defence that has let them down this season, and it’s been interested to see that despite Peterborough’s much-improved form, sides packed with goalscorers such as Huddersfield Town and Lincoln City – the 2nd and 3rd highest goalscoring sides in the division respectively – have been able to match their early-season successes more recently. Huddersfield Town’s 3-2 home win (which came at the end of Peterborough’s aforementioned winless streak) was matched by another 3-2 away win, while Lincoln City, who beat Peterborough 3-0 away, hammered another 5 past them in a 5-2 win at Sincil Bank.

In other words, if you’re a free-scoring side, you’re still going to be causing Peterborough United plenty of problems even as they challenge for a playoff place.

Unfortunately, that’s not a luxury Bradford City really have, and so Peterborough will surely be looking at this as a winnable tie despite the Bantams’ continued good form at Valley Parade. They will certainly not be coming to make up the numbers.

Mansfield Town 1 – 2 Peterborough United


Peterborough United 6 – 1 Wigan Athletic


Bradford City:
Bradford City have long since started looking over their shoulders as their form through the first half of the campaign continues to capitulate. For whatever reason, the aspects that made City so tough to beat in their first 23 games has abandoned them now. Whereas in the first half of the season, City lost just 3 league games, they have already eclipsed that in their following 6. 4 league defeats in quick succession against Cardiff City, Huddersfield Town, Lincoln City, and most recently Luton Town, have shown that the Bantams probably lack the quality to realistically challenge the sides not just in the current top 6, but also on the periphery.

Unfortunately, Peterborough United are right there alongside Luton Town, City’s most recent conquerors. But all is not lost! 3 of those 4 defeats to promotion rivals have come away from home, while the 2-1 defeat to Cardiff City at Valley Parade was far from a shambles. The Bantams held their own in that tie, and were pushing for an equaliser late on. A subsequent victory over a pesky Doncaster Rovers side who have players that have caused City umpteen problems over the years ensured City remain as high as 5th in an extremely competitive ‘Home’ league table – and that’s despite having played fewer home games than anyone in the top 9.

Indeed, if City were to win ‘games in hand’ at home, they could be as high as 3rd place in that particular table, with only Cardiff City and Lincoln City boasting a higher points-per-game average on home soil. So is there any reason to fear a surging Peterborough United side who, in fairness, have also lost a few games against top competition lately?

Well, that depends on your outlook. Peterborough United are the 4th best ‘Away’ side in the division, which sounds impressive until you realise they’ve actually lost more games than they’ve won. The fact they’ve drawn 0 games on their travels is impressive, as is winning 7 away league fixtures – but they’ve still lost a further 8. Bradford City must ensure that Peterborough’s mediocre defensive record is more of a story than their ever-improving high power attack.

City’s record of 10 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats speaks for itself, and it’s impressive that there are so many teams in the division who have either matched or improved on that. Now, it’s Graham Alexander’s job to fulfil his desire for City to ‘speed things up’ in attack and make the most of their new attacking recruits. There are plentiful options, but on the downside of that, very little time to wait for any of Mullin, Wheatley or Jackson to settle in. The Bantams need goals now, in the most urgent fashion, and with Stephen Humphrys the only City player to have scored in the last 3 games, the omens aren’t great – even less so when you consider that goal was a last minute consolation…

Luton Town 2 – 1 Bradford City


Bradford City 1 – 0 Doncaster Rovers


Prediction:

It feels like a lot of the recent predictions have consistently been 1 goal worse than expected. Where a 1-1 draw with Luton was predicted, City lost 2-1. Where a 2-0 defeat at Lincoln City was predicted, the scoreline was actually 3-0. Where a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield was predicted, it was actually 1-0, with City failing to get their goal. Even the Cardiff City prediction of 2-2 was a single goal worse off, with City eventually slumping 2-1.

The aim here will be to try to stop that rot by predicting a slightly more pessimistic outcome than initially anticipated. That said, the pick would have been 1-1. With Peterborough surging up the table (if still losing some big games), and able to score freely, they should be able to match City’s excellent home record and avoid falling to defeat as struggling sides like Doncaster Rovers and Port Vale have done in City’s most recent home wins.

With the Bantams not having found their goalscoring touch, and possibly making too many change too quickly to an unconvincing forward line, the pick will actually be a 2-1 defeat. Peterborough have 3 players on 7 goals or more; the Bantams have 2 (Pointon and Sarcevic, both on 7). That City have been unable to field both has been a hindrance, and now they might not find themselves the preferred option, which in itself could cause an issue in consistency.

Peterborough United do seem likely to score here. It’s rare that they don’t score away from home, and it’s rare that they don’t score twice. They may have suffered a 1-0 defeat at Stevenage, but against Mansfield Town (W 2-1), Wycombe Wanderers (W 2-0), Lincoln City (L 5-2), and Reading (W 2-1), the Posh have shown they are capable of scoring multiple goals on the road, win or lose. Bradford City’s best chance of winning this game would be to overwhelm a mediocre (but increasingly well-organised) Peterborough backline, but City just aren’t that side. Unless they can repeat the feat of Stevenage, picking up a 1-0 win courtesy of a defensive shutout, then it just doesn’t seem likely that City will out-gun Peterborough – and City haven’t been shutting out any of the division’s highest scorers of late.

Still, all hope is not lost – but we have entered what feels like a more pessimistic part of the season, one that hopefully that levels out a bit more after the Stockport County game. Looking forward, City play just 1 side in the top half in their subsequent 6 league games. That’s a real opportunity for City to start amassing some points, but it will require the new-look strike force to really begin firing on all cylinders ASAP, and it will require some points picked up away from home. If those things prove too much to ask, then City’s promotion charge will peter out.

Final Score:
Bradford City 1 – 2 Peterborough United