The Voice - Match preview #44: Bradford City vs Plymouth Argyle Tuesday 21st April 2026 7:45pm

EFL League One Fixture #44
Tuesday 21st April 2026 17:45
Bradford City (4th) vs Plymouth Argyle (7th)
University of Bradford Stadium

Record:
Games Won: 17
Games Drawn: 16
Games Lost: 23

Last 5:
08 Dec 2018: Plymouth Argyle 3 – 3 Bradford City
16 Feb 2019: Bradford City 0 – 0 Plymouth Argyle
23 Nov 2019: Plymouth Argyle 2 – 1 Bradford City
29 Feb 2020: Bradford City 2 – 1 Plymouth Argyle
06 Dec 2025: Plymouth Argyle 0 – 1 Bradford City

Plymouth Argyle:
Plymouth Argyle got their late charge towards the playoff places back on track with a 3-1 win at AFC Wimbledon on Saturday afternoon, bringing in to laser focus the damage done in the 2-2 derby day draw against struggling Exeter City the previous week. Plymouth Argyle rescued a point against the Grecians with a 90th minute equaliser from Malachi Boateng, but after bombarding the Exeter goal throughout, they might have expected more than a late salvage operation.

One of the form sides in the division, it was also to Plymouth’s extreme detriment that they lost at potential playoff rivals Bolton Wanderers – also at home – on Good Friday. That was in spite of Bolton being reduced to 10 men on the 43rd minute before the first goal was scored. A penalty and an own goal undid Plymouth on that occasion, yet the Pilgrims might still feel a point there would have been a fair result. Former Bradford City junior and current Plymouth chief Tom Cleverley won’t be able to gripe too much, however, with his side having won 6 of their last 9 league outings. There remains a danger, however, that their surge has come a little bit too late.

Chasing Stevenage, Plymouth Argyle remain 2 points outside the top 6 with just 3 games remaining. While the Pilgrims’ final 2 games against Northampton Town and Port Vale are, theoretically, both very winnable with the likelihood that both sides will be relegated by then (Northampton’s fate is already confirmed, while Port Vale are hanging on by a thread due to having so many games in hand – they are 11 points adrift with 12 still to play for), the next one looks a real crunch tie. Bradford City away on a Tuesday evening. Not one for the faint hearted among the travelling faithful.

Still, Bradford City have underperformed since a monumental away win at Wycombe Wanderers went some way to securing a playoff position for themselves, subsequently losing at home to Stevenage in a dull affair before throwing away 2 points against 10-man Barnsley on Saturday. This might theoretically be a good time to play City with the playoffs all but secured, but expect nothing to come easy as City look to build momentum ahead of the playoffs themselves – assuming they manage to make it!

Plymouth Argyle will cast their minds back to a home defeat against the Bantams on December 6th, when Antoni Sarcevic netted the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after a foul on Stephen Humphrys, but it’s worth noting that the Plymouth Argyle formbook looks significantly different now than it did then.

Plymouth did manage to turn round a horrible run of form that coincided with playing 6 straight away games (Plymouth lost 5 of them on the trot before finally beating Port Vale 1-0), and though Bradford City did pip them at Home Park, the turn-around was predicated on a series of narrow games. Plymouth won 1-0 3 times in that same period before breaking into a canter with a 5-1 away win at Doncaster Rovers.

Since then, Plymouth have scored somewhat freely, netting 3 times or more 8 times in the league – including a spectacular 5-2 home win over Cardiff City. The rest of the teams Plymouth have hammered have been midtable or lower, though, with the exception of Huddersfield Town – who, up until recently, had held their own hopes of snatching a playoff place. Those hopes have all but evaporated now, however, with the Terriers being 4 points adrift with only 2 games remaining.

Plymouth Argyle will hope that after Tuesday night they aren’t left in a similar position, with Stevenage facing Barnsley at home. Cleverley’s men simply cannot afford to lose.

AFC Wimbledon 1 – 3 Plymouth Argyle


Plymouth Argyle 2 – 2 Exeter City


Bradford City:
While Plymouth Argyle have started scoring more freely in 2026, Bradford City’s goal return has remained rather consistent, with a 2-goal cap still apparently firmly in place! That will be a worry heading into the (as yet still unsecured) playoffs, as a disappointing defeat at home to Stevenage was followed by a similarly despondent display away at Barnsley. Unable to make their numerical advantage count come the final whistle, the major bright spot was that Nick Powell managed to grab his first goal for the club.

A player with a torrid injury record, Powell had become City’s forgotten man until recently. The hope now is that that headed goal will give him the lift he needs as he seeks to make a big impression in these vital final few games. Marc Roberts also contributed a goal for City, similarly heading the ball into his own net, but 20 year old Leo Farrell grabbed his 5th goal of the season having scored his other 4 on loan at National League side Scunthorpe United. It was a great moment for the lad, but a sickener for the travelling Bradford City fans who had hoped to see City stamp their authority on their midtable opponents.

At the minute, any sense of that ‘authority’ seems severely lacking. Yes, the Bantams pulled it out of the bag against fellow playoff hopefuls Wycombe Wanderers, who now know they will be playing League One football again next season, but even if City have only fractionally taken their foot of the accelerator, and it’s possible that they have done so, that fraction has made all the difference.

Now Graham Alexander’s men must pick themselves up and dust themselves down as they prepare to play ‘spoiler’ to a former member of the Bradford City ranks – Tom Cleverley obviously never made an appearance for the Bantams before moving on to Manchester United at the tender age of 11, but some fans will remember the sell-on clause saga that never came to fruition – he eventually moved to Everton on a free transfer, before finishing his playing career at Watford aged just 33. Now 36, Cleverley sports a similar win percentage to Alexander at their current clubs, with Tom currently sat on a win rate of 48.1 % to Graham’s 49.3 %. By the end of the season, that situation could – theoretically – have flipped… but let’s hope not!

This is time for the elder manager to employ every ounce of experience and avoid becoming a footnote in Plymouth’s ambitions to return to Championship football. Stevenage have already made it a possibility on their part, and City will not want to lose to the Boro’s main rivals for the final playoff spot as well – not least because if both Stevenage and Plymouth win on Tuesday night, they will come within touching distance of City, with Stevenage potentially a single point behind, and Plymouth going 3 points behind with a superior goal difference…

Then it really will get nervy around Valley Parade.

Barnsley 2 – 2 Bradford City


Bradford City 0 – 1 Stevenage

 

Prediction:
Realistically, a draw wouldn’t be a terrible result on Tuesday night. Plymouth Argyle would remain 6 points behind with 6 left on the table, meaning City would only have to draw against either Bolton Wanderers or Exeter City to confirm their place above the Pilgrims, but then there’s always the possibility of Luton Town threatening if they can beat relegated Rotherham United in South Yorkshire – which they should.

A win is the only way for Bradford City to confirm their playoff spot, but it doesn’t feel like it will be on the cards if they put in a similar performance to the ones doled out against Stevenage or Barnsley. Lacklustre from an attacking stance, Bradford City are sorely missing a goalscorer despite Graham Alexander’s insistence that the role of a number 10 isn’t all about sticking the ball in the net. Many will mention Andy Cook’s name at this point, and he’s once again tearing it up in League Two, but that’s history now with the striker – rightly or wrongly – likely having played his last game in City colours.

Hopefully talismanic midfielder Antoni Sarcevic will be back in the starting line up here, even if Bobby Pointon and Tyreik Wright aren’t quite fit enough themselves. It was his 90+6’ goal that sent Bradford City to League One in the first place, and it feels like doing the double and firing City into the Championship is a dream only he can make come true at this point. Whether that involves scoring in the playoff semi-finals or even at Wembley, there’s still the small matter of actually getting there. As outlined above, defeat here and things could quickly become unbearable. If City had something of a free hit against both Stevenage and Barnsley, that ship has now sailed. There are no more throwaway games, and we are right back to crunch ties, even if there is still time to secure a top 6 spot even in the face of defeat.

Judging by what happened at the end of last season, there have to be some niggling doubts about Graham Alexander’s ability to focus his troops’ minds on the job at hand. City came within a whisker – literally seconds – of throwing away automatic promotion last campaign, and it feels like something similar might be happening here. While we all hope that it isn’t, it’s time for the players to rise to the occasion. Most of the players that nearly squandered promotion last season won’t be playing here, so there really shouldn’t be any kind of hangover – but who knows…

In all honesty, I can imagine City winning in front of a raucous Valley Parade crowd, but the fact it’s a Tuesday night might be a minor dampener, and the fact that Plymouth Argyle look to be full of goals is another concern. Unfortunately I think this could be a defeat, but not the end of the road. I’ll take Plymouth to upset City and take a 2-1 victory back to Home Park, leaving City needing to potentially win their final 2 games.

I just don’t think it will be that easy to turn things around, so let’s keep an eye on the other results involving Stevenage and Luton Town, and/or hope City can defy the form book here.

Final Score:
Bradford City 1 – 2 Plymouth Argyle