The Voice - Match preview #12: Bradford City vs Barnsley Saturday 18th October 2025 3:00pm

EFL League One Fixture #12
Saturday 18th October 2025 15:00
Bradford City vs Barnsley
University of Bradford Stadium

Record:
Games Won: 38
Games Drawn: 31
Games Lost: 41

Last 5:
26 Jan 2016: Bradford City 0 – 1 Barnsley
11 Aug 2018: Bradford City 0 – 2 Barnsley
13 Nov 2018: Barnsley 2 – 1 Bradford City [EFL Trophy]
12 Jan 2019: Barnsley 3 – 0 Bradford City
21 Nov 2023: Bradford City 5 – 1 Barnsley [EFL Trophy]

Barnsley:
Barnsley’s excellent start to the season saw them pick up 5 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from their opening 7 league fixtures. During this time they also bypassed Fleetwood Town (2-2, 5-4 Pens) and Rotherham United (2-1) in the EFL Cup. Their sole league draw came at home to Bolton Wanderers (1-1), while their only slip up came at AFC Wimbledon who registered a 2-0 win.

The next 4 results, however, were less impressive picture. A 1-0 defeat at Blackpool was followed by a 6-0 hammering at the hands of Premier League Brighton, before a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of visitors Port Vale saw them bested 2-1 at League Two Notts County in the EFL Trophy. That 4-game skid was curtailed at Wycombe Wanderers most recently, but that was a game Barnsley seemed to have in the bag. 2-0 up with just 2 minutes of normal time left to play and with Wycombe Wanderers having failed to register a single shot on target, it was quite the moment, then, when Sam Bell pulled one back in the 88th minute, before Alex Lowry piled on the misery with a last gasp equaliser.

That will leave one of the EFL’s youngest manager, Conor Hourihane (34), with a big job trying to lift spirits ahead of a huge clash with 2nd place Yorkshire rivals Bradford City. No wins in 5 across both league and cup have seen Barnsley drop from the top 3, to being 4 points adrift of the play off places in 8th. That Barnsley have twice fallen victim to postponements on international weekends does mean they have a game or 2 in hand of everyone in the division outside of leaders Stevenage, but the question is whether this most recent postponement will be a help or hindrance.

For his part, Hourihane admitted Barnsley “gifted” Wycombe Wanderers a point after their late collapse, but felt his side played “okay” overall. Despite that, he felt Wycombe never applied much pressure, and the failure to win was difficult to believe. His opposite number in the dug out felt the same; Michael Duff, perhaps surprisingly, said he didn’t celebrate the equaliser on account of “so much” having “gone wrong” with “both errors and with personality”. A damning indictment, then, perhaps heaping even more pressure on Hourihane’s Barnsley to bounce back at Valley Parade next weekend. Ironically, Barnsley will face a side that did exactly the opposite of Barnsley, going 2-0 down themselves at Rotherham United before launching a late 2-goal raid to secure an invaluable point. While City, similarly, won’t have been happy with aspects of their play on their last outing, the Bantams will be much the happier of the 2 sides in recent weeks.

One cannot emphasise enough the importance of Barnsley stemming the current bloodletting. Forward Davis Keillor-Dunn, a familiar name to Bantams fans after numerous League Two tussles, leads the way in terms of goalscoring exploits with a full 6 goals to his credit so far. Behind him, veteran David McGoldrick (another name written into infamy on the Valley Parade terraces after his classy leveller for Notts County late last term) has 2, as do midfielder Adam Phillips and Brighton loanee Caylan Vickers. Outside of cup competition, nobody else has managed more than 1 goal for the Tykes this season.

All eyes, then, will perhaps be on Keillor-Dunn to see if he can add to his tally of 4 goals in his last 10 games against Bradford City. While hardly as prolific against the Bantams as Billy Sharp for example, Keillor-Dunn’s presence in the starting line up with the possibility of a David McGoldrick start (or cameo) could seem like a bad omen to superstitious City fans!

Wycombe Wanderers 2 – 2 Barnsley


Barnsley 0 – 2 Port Vale


Bradford City:
Bradford City didn’t look especially flat against Rotherham United, but the Bantams were taught a lesson in finishing as the hereto present efficient Will Swan squandered two fantastic early chances to give City the lead. Denzel Hall eventually gave the Millers the lead on the 20th minute with a low drive that Sam Walker might have done better with, before Martin Sherif practically passed the ball into the net to conclude a good sweeping counterattack from the home side.

Graham Alexander’s men did rally, though, with Antoni Sarcevic coolly chesting the ball past Cameron Dawson, before the previously somewhat wasteful Alex Pattison netted an emotionally charged leveler in the 81st minute. Graham Alexander praised his team’s resilience, and City could have come away with a far more impressive result had his side’s finishing been a little more on-point. Still, to spurn chances and come from 2 goals down to claim a point is no mean feat. Bradford City have backbone this season to go with their quality.

Perhaps that backbone is something Conor Hourihane’s Barnsley haven’t shown of late – but that’s no reason to think this will be an easy game. Bradford City entertain a side who made an early-season charge towards the top of the table, and even though recent results haven’t been there for the Tykes, City’s recent record against South Yorkshire sides isn’t all that either.

A 3-1 defeat at Doncaster Rovers where old faces came back to haunt City and a rescue-job at Rotherham United suggest have plenty of tough games to come. That their home record remains perfect, though, is cause for comfort. Even West Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town failed to match City’s levels at Valley Parade and were duly brushed aside 3-1. Barnsley, off the back of a 5-game winless run, have their work cut out for them.

City’s free-scoring start has delighted Bantams’ fans, with Bobby Pointon (5), Will Swan (4) and Antoni Sarcevic (4) the most likely goalscorers on current form. Josh Neufville (3) is the only other player to have netted more than 1 league goal, though Alex Pattison and current cup supremo Andy Cook will certainly have designs on netting a few themselves in the coming weeks.

That said, if the current time off after the postponement of the Lincoln City game lends itself to anything, it will hopefully be a regrouping of a back line that has felt tied together by string and good will at times. That they have collectively performed so stoically across a variety of back 5 incarnations is full credit to every defender at the club, but it’s no fluke that City have let in a full 13 goals from 11 league games. Above average, perhaps, but not great, and the circumstances certainly tell their own story.

Having players like Matthew Pennington making their way back is a huge positive, even if both Aden Baldwin and Curtis Tilt remain out for the longer term. Certainly City have looked better with Touray at left wing back, despite the manful job he has done at centre back of late, while Tom McIntyre has made a good early impression since joining on loan from Portsmouth.

The prospect of a more settled back 5 may not come in time for the Barnsley game – in which case City’s high press and relentlessly high quality attacking play at Valley Parade will once again be needed at the fore.

Rotherham United 2 – 2 Bradford City


Bradford City 1 – 0 Blackpool

 

Prediction:
It’s not a coincidence that Bradford City are top two in the ‘Home’ league table – since Graham Alexander has stamped his authority on this Bantams’ side, home performances have been nothing short of excellent overall. That’s not to say any home game is a guaranteed win, far from it. The main reason City aren’t leaders in the ‘Home’ league table is due to the fact they’ve leaked in 5 goals across their 5 league wins at VP, as opposed to the other perfect ‘Home’ side, Stevenage, who have let in just 1 goal across a similar 5 game win streak at their own ground.

Doing just enough at the other end is what has kept the points tally ticking over for Bradford City, in spite of claiming just 1 clean sheet at home so far. Will that last forever? Undoubtedly not, but Barnsley have hardly been prolific goalscorers away from home themselves, and while most away games have generally been quite tight for the Tykes, it’s now a little while since their recorded a win on the road. That could – and should – have been corrected at Wycombe Wanderers before Hourihane’s men suffered a late collapse, but prior to that a pair of goalless efforts at AFC Wimbledon and Blackpool both ended in competitive defeats.

In both those defeats, Barnsley enjoyed a full 61 % and 63 % possession respectively, but failed to carve out the requisite chances to earn a victory. That will be music to most City fans’ ears. The Bantams have frequently seen less of the ball at home this season and still gone on to win, and the last two sides that really dominated possession at Valley Parade both saw City race to 2-0 leads – namely against Wycombe Wanderers and Luton Town.

Now, City seem to be gaining more and more confidence with the ball in the possession as they adapt to the rigours of League One. Don’t expect City to need Barnsley to dictate the majority of play, but equally don’t expect shock and awe if that is the case. Bradford City are playing like far more than a one-dimensional counter attacking side despite their obvious abilities in that area, which is a great sign. Resilience and adaptability are key in any division, and Graham Alexander’s men have shown that while they don’t need everything to go their way, they will still fight until the end if it doesn’t.

While a draw here is possible – and definitely shouldn’t be greeted with despondence – I can see Barnsley getting caught out at times as City’s high press works a treat in terms of picking defenders’ pockets. Whether ex-City loanee Jack Shepherd becomes a victim of such tactics remains to be seen, but the Barnsley back line have caused themselves problems of their own creation at times this season, and a packed Valley Parade will gleefully accept any such offerings.

I’ll take a 2-1 City win in a highly competitive affair between two good quality sides – but perhaps we will see why Barnsley have looked more midtable than highflyer under Hourihane so far.

Final Score:
Bradford City 2 – 1 Barnsley