The Voice - Match preview #31: Bradford City vs Stockport County Tuesday 17th February 2026 7:45pm

EFL League One Fixture #31
Tuesday 17th February 2026 19:45
Bradford City (5th) vs Stockport County (4th)
University of Bradford Stadium

Record:
Games Won: 38
Games Drawn: 30
Games Lost: 50

Last 5:
24 Jan 2023: Stockport County 0 – 0 Bradford City
15 Aug 2023: Stockport County 1 – 1 Bradford City
29 Dec 2023: Bradford City 0 – 0 Stockport County
10 Dec 2024: Stockport County 2 – 3 Bradford City [EFL Trophy]
19 Aug 2025: Stockport County 1 – 2 Bradford City

Stockport County:
Stockport County will visit Valley Parade on the back of a 6 game unbeaten run in League One during which time they have picked up 4 wins and 2 draws. Cardiff City (A, 1-1) and Leyton Orient (H, 0-0) were the two sides Stockport County weren’t able to beat, with all of Huddersfield Town (H, 1-0), Rotherham United (H, 3-2), Blackpool (A, 2-1) and Plymouth Argyle (H, 2-1) dispatched. Prior to that run of games, however, Stockport County were not on the best of form, with a record of 3 wins, 2 draws and a full 5 defeats stemming from early November right through to early January.

Still, Stockport have managed to surge past Bradford City and up to 4th place in the League One table, having managed to complete a league double over playoff rivals Huddersfield Town, while drawing home and away against Cardiff City, showing they are no easy out even for the top sides in the division.

In their most recent league outing against Leyton Orient, which took place back on the 7th February (Stockport County did not play at all this past weekend due to Bolton Wanderers participation in the FA Cup), The Hatters went down to 10 men when Josh Dacres-Cogley was dismissed after picking up a second yellow card for a blatant shirt pull. Leyton Orient, however, were unable to make their numerical advantage pay, with Stockport goalkeeper Ben Hinchcliffe to thank for a quality save or two. Dacres-Cogley will now be unavailable for the trip to Bradford City, a side who bested Stockport at Edgeley Park earlier in the season, and whom will duly leapfrog their Greater Manchester opponents should they beat them for a second time on Tuesday evening. Repeat outcomes will be something County hope to avoid this time around, however, after matching outcomes both home and away against Cardiff and Huddersfield.

Striker Kyle Wootton (15) has a perfect 1-in-2 goal-to-game ratio in League One this campaign, making him the division’s joint deadliest goalscorer alongside Reading’s Jack Marriott and Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard. Next in the scoring charts are Oliver Norwood and Jack Diamond on 5 each, with Nathan Lowe on 3 – though Lowe has since moved to Wycombe Wanderers on loan after being recalled by parent club Stoke City. For their part, the dangerous trio of Wootton, Diamond and veteran midfielder Norwood all lead the assist charts for the Hatters with 5 each, taking their total goal involvements this season to 20, 10 and 10 respectively. Given Stockport County have scored 42 times in total, that will represent a significant portion of all of Dave Challinor’s sides goals.

As one might expect, Stockport County are a possession-based side, with an overall possession percentage of 53 % this season. That wasn’t overly helpful earlier in the season, however, when Stockport County saw 65.6 % of possession in their home tie against Bradford City, but still walked away on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat. That was very much a game of 2 halves on that Tuesday evening, as Stockport dominated the first half, only to be forced on to the back foot and beaten in the second stanza. Will Swan and Antoni Sarcevic grabbed the goals that day, and Sarcevic may look to score again against one of his former clubs. Owen Moxon scored for Stockport, but has only managed 1 further goal since.

In terms of xG, Stockport County sit in 7th place – exactly where they sit in the ‘possession’ table, for that matter – and exactly where they sit in the xGA table, and the ‘Goals Scored’ table, too. Consistency is their thing, then, with those across-the-board 7th-best metrics making them a real contender for promotion this season.

Stockport County 0 – 0 Leyton Orient


Stockport County 2 – 1 Plymouth Argyle


Bradford City:
Bradford City made a mockery of the form book on Saturday afternoon, completely outplaying on-form Peterborough United and registering no fewer than 29 shots on goal. Luke Williams’ side had come in with high expectations, having clawed back more than a few points on their playoff rivals since the turn of the year, but Graham Alexander’s men seemed to hold all the answers. Striker Kayden Jackson led the line well, defying certain pessimistic pre-game expectations with a fine performance capped off by a well-taken headed goal, but in truth he could have given City the lead even before Bobby Pointon’s 5th minute opener.

That, ultimately, was the story of the game: Bradford City spurned chance after chance outside of their 2 goal salvo, with the excellent Jenson Metcalfe the most frequent offender. Metcalfe had no fewer than 6 attempts on goal, with Kayden Jackson getting 5, Pointon and Power on 4, and Sarcevic on 3. Ethan Wheatley came off the bench again to get another glorious gilt-edged chance, but again only found the goalkeeper while one-on-one. Josh Neufville, Tyreik Wright and Curtis Tilt all had further opportunities, but somehow Alex Bass managed to maintain a somewhat slender scoreline amid what was otherwise a real rout.

Gone was the lazy long ball game that City have played so poorly recently, with City dominating the midfield with a pair of superb performances from Max Power and Jenson Metcalfe, the latter of whom was virtually unplayable. The wingbacks provided a constant stream of deliveries, with a total of 37 attempted crosses coming in during the course of the game, an onslaught Peterborough struggled with throughout. For their part, The Posh often went long, but Curtis Tilt and Aden Baldwin in particular mopped up with real proficiency. xG readings suggest the game should have scored at least 3, maybe 4 goals, and that wouldn’t have flattered the Bantams.

Now, they move on to another home tie, and that will be of some comfort to City fans who have seen Graham Alexander’s side continue to make Valley Parade a safe haven even amidst a treacherous run of away defeats. Doncaster Rovers, with players so often a thorn in City’s side, were beaten in an entertaining back-and-forth game, another outing where Sam Walker and his defence were able to keep a clean sheet. Doing so against Stockport County will be even more difficult, especially with County’s on-song striker Kyle Wootton having scored 4 in 4 in the league – but nobody has turned City over easily at home this season, with Burton Albion and Cardiff City the only sides able to manage 2-1 wins, and only Barnsley and Lincoln City coming away with draws.

Bradford City 2 – 0 Peterborough United


Luton Town 2 – 1 Bradford City


Prediction:

Peterborough United looked another tough fixture on paper, but that wasn’t how it played out. Still, we can’t expect Stockport County to look as hapless as the Posh did, especially given their extended unbeaten run of 6 league games and while boasting the joint-top scorer in the division in the shape of Kyle Wootton.

As described above, Stockport County are a team of consistencies. The 7th best team in the division across a whole host of metrics, their lack of glaring weaknesses has elevated them to a real contender for a playoff place, even if the automatic spots look to be beyond them (and the rest of the division, in truth). Repeated results the second time out against high flyers Cardiff City (2 draws) and Huddersfield Town (2 wins) give hope that Bradford City can inflict a second defeat of the season upon the Hatters, but it’s worth noting that Stockport County have a better away record this season – not just in terms of the ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ league tables, which are naturally skewed towards success on home soil, but in terms of points-per-game. While Stockport have a record of 8 wins, 4 draws and 4 defeats at home, equating to 1.75 points per game, they have managed 7 wins, 4 draws and 3 defeats away, equating to 1.79 points per game. Defeat at Valley Parade, however, will see the pendulum swing back in favour of points picked up in games at Edgeley Park, suggesting that isn’t such a key metric – but it does go some way to show how consistent Stockport County have been throughout the campaign.

Bradford City’s lopsided home form, by comparison, is a good omen here. While away days may still end up costing City, their home performances haven’t deteriorated just yet, and so the pick will be an optimistic 2-1 win, a matching of the win at Edgeley Park, even if City will need to be far more clinical than they were against Peterborough United! Let’s consider that game target practice ahead of what should be a hugely competitive League One fixture between two of the better sides in the division.

Final Score:
Bradford City 2 – 1 Stockport County