The Voice - Match preview #46: Bradford City vs Fleetwood Town Saturday 3rd May 2025 3:00pm

EFL League Two Fixture #46
Saturday 3rd May 2025 15:00
Bradford City (3rd) vs Fleetwood Town (14th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

Record:
Games Won: 6
Games Drawn: 4
Games Lost: 5

Last 5:
26 Sep 2017: Bradford City 0 – 3 Fleetwood Town
01 Jan 2018: Fleetwood Town 1 – 2 Bradford City
01 Sep 2018: Fleetwood Town 2 – 1 Bradford City
09 Feb 2019: Bradford City 0 – 1 Fleetwood Town
09 Nov 2024: Fleetwood Town 1 – 0 Bradford City

Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town have been something of a statistical marvel this season. They have been the very definition of the word ‘average’ with 15 wins, 15 draws and 15 defeats with an almost identical Goals For / Goals Against record of 60:59. That has left them sat in 14th place ahead of the final game of the season, with the 12th best ‘Away’ record in the division (8 wins, 3 draws, 11 defeats).

In terms of xG, Fleetwood Town are underperformers, their players having carved out the 8th best record, though they are slightly behind that in terms of xGA, where they sit 11th in that particular table. The main learnings from a quick perusal of the data suggests that while Fleetwood Town are capable in attack, their unspectacular defensive record has hindered them all season. That seems to have been borne out in recent results, where Fleetwood seem to win comfortably or lose comfortably, particularly away from home.

While 4-1 wins over Crewe Alexandra and Accrington Stanley and a 4-2 win over MK Dons, all away from home, would suggest a real danger to the Bantams this Saturday, the flip side of the coin is they have also been beaten 3-0 at both Colchester United and Chesterfield, as well as 3-1 at Harrogate Town. Those 6 results account for their last 6 away games: Lee Bell’s team are, then, a side who are ending a very average season in Jekyll and Hyde form. Throw in a 4-0 home defeat against on-form Swindon Town and it would seem Fleetwood Town aren’t a good bet when it comes to fending off teams with real momentum.

Fortunately for them, then, Bradford City aren’t a side with any real momentum… but the Bantams do have a monumentally important game ahead of them with the massive prize of promotion on the line.

How Fleetwood Town will approach this tie, then, is anybody’s guess. While Fleetwood Town don’t have anything to play for, they have just seen off Newport County 2-0 in their most recent game, ending a 4-game run without a win. Phoenix Patterson and 6’5 centre back Zech Medley scored against the Exiles, but neither count among the top scorers for the club this season, where midfielder Matty Virtue (9), striker Ryan Graydon (9), forward Ronan Coughlan (8) and midfielder Mark Helm (7) lead the way. Nobody has reached double figures yet this season, but that hasn’t really been the nature of this Fleetwood Town side. All 3 recent away games where the Cod Army scored 4 goals saw 4 different goalscorers. Not one to over-rely on any specific attacking threat, Fleetwood Town have several pacy attacking players lending them the ability to hurt teams with quick attacks. They often commit well going forward and tend to have plenty of runners overlapping when they’re on top in a game, causing defences serious issues. The key for Bradford City on Saturday should be slowing Fleetwood Town down and not letting them build up and overload on the attack. That said, starving them of the ball will not be easy in what I would expect to be a fast-paced game between two sides who like to press with Fleetwood Town looking to sign off in style.

Fleetwood Town 2 – 0 Newport County


Harrogate Town 3 – 1 Fleetwood Town


Bradford City:
Bradford City saw Doncaster Rovers seal promotion first hand with a 2-1 defeat at the Eco-Power Stadium, and in truth Doncaster Rovers fully deserved the win. They were already 1-0 up before Aden Baldwin lost his head – and the respect of many Bradford City supporters – as he collected a completely unnecessary red card shortly after the half time whistle. Still, City had the chance to level things at 1 apiece when George Lapslie was fouled and a penalty was awarded late on, only for Tyreik Wright to fluff his lines from the spot. Billy Sharp went up the other end and compounded the misery by adding a second and making it 2-0, but there was still time for a consolation goal from Romoney Crichlow that ultimately did little to dampen the spirits of the South Yorkshire side, who broke open the champagne at the final whistle.

Donny will be in League One next season… but will Bradford City?

The Bantams have made the last 10 or so games remarkably hard work. Even when cruising in games, such as being 2-0 up away at Swindon Town, Bradford City found a way to throw it away. At Chesterfield, City let slip both a 2-0 and 3-1 lead, eventually drawing 3-3, the bane of late goals once again haunting them.

And so we go into the final game with it still all to play for, and in fairness with it still all in City’s hands. Walsall’s catastrophic form has blown City’s general malaise out of the water in terms of self-inflicted trauma, and so they will now travel to Crewe Alexandra seeking a last second reprieve. But the Saddlers can do nothing to influence City’s home game against Fleetwood Town, a game Bradford City will still be expected to win.

Installed as extremely heavy 12/25 favourites per Soccerbase, Fleetwood Town are priced at a whopping 13/2 to turn the Bantams over and spoil the party. They are close to 3/1 to even get a draw.

The feeling, then, is that Bradford City will, finally, get the job done. It has gone down to the wire, and all the Bantams must do now is win and Manager of the Season Graham Alexander will have led his troops to a long-awaited promotion back to League One.

Captain Richie Smallwood will finally return after his agonizingly long suspension, and the omens there are good. The last time Richie completed 90 minutes was at home to Crewe, and City won comfortably 2-0. City’s home record is incredible, and easily the best in the division, and Aden Baldwin simply isn’t as key to success as the skipper, the club’s only out-and-out defensive minded midfielder.

All eyes will be on Richie, then, and how he can defend the back line and help manufacture attacks from his typically deep-lying position. Having made the League Two Team of the Season, it’s clear his admirers aren’t limited solely to Valley Parade, and he could be the talisman that helps them get over the line once and for all.

Let’s hope so.

Doncaster Rovers 2 – 1 Bradford City


Chesterfield 3 – 3 Bradford City


Prediction:
Overwhelm or be overwhelmed – as outlined above, Fleetwood Town have either been sublime or ridiculous on the road lately with 3 heavy wins and 3 heavy defeats accounting for their last 6 games on the road. If Bradford City make a nervy start or show weakness, Fleetwood Town are the kind of side to pile on the misery – and there’s been plenty of that in recent games.

Defeat at Doncaster Rovers was at least a reasonably likely outcome, as were draws against Notts County and Chesterfield, but the nature of some of the performances lately haven’t been acceptable to the Bradford City fan base. Missed penalties at both Port Vale and Doncaster Rovers, highly avoidable red cards at both Swindon Town and Doncaster Rovers, and the banishment of manager Graham Alexander to the stands for 3 games are all incidents in the past 6 matches that have left a sour taste in the mouth – particularly coming at a time when City could have been locking up promotion, or even the divisional championship.

But that’s all behind us now, save for the repercussions of Aden Baldwin’s ludicrous dismissal for dissent, and automatic promotion remains Bradford City’s to lose after Walsall extended their own winless run to 13. Victory here, and the job is done – at long, long last. Thank goodness it’s a home game…

The disparity between home performances and away outcomes has continued to be glaring, even at this late stage of the season, and so the confines of Valley Parade on Saturday afternoon should feel like a relief. While nerves will be jangling in the stands for as long as City aren’t in total control of the tie, the circumstances could so easily be far, far worse. While Fleetwood did admittedly beat City 1-0 at their ground earlier this season, only Doncaster Rovers can boast a Home-and-Away double over the Bantams, and Fleetwood Town (literally now) are not in the same league.

Everything points to a home win, down to the fact that even in their worst form Bradford City have been red hot starters. If City can get ahead early here, Fleetwood could find themselves in trouble, particularly given how poor their own second half performances have been of late. All 3 of Harrogate’s goals in their 3-1 win over Fleetwood came in the second half. As did all 3 of Chesterfield’s goals in their 3-0 win, as did Colchester United’s goals in their 3-0 win. When they lost at home 4-0 to Swindon Town, 3 of those goals came in the second half.

In other words, if City can get ahead with an early blitz, the second half could become great fun for Bantams fans. The pick will be a very positive one based entirely on that premise – go in 1-0 at half time, then pile it on in the second stanza.

4-0.

Let's go up in style.

Final Score:

Bradford City 4 – 0 Fleetwood Town