The Voice - Match preview #13: Stevenage vs Bradford City Saturday 25th October 2025 3:00pm

EFL League One Fixture #13
Saturday 25th October 2025 15:00
Stevenage (2nd) vs Bradford City (3rd)
Lamex Stadium (AKA Broadhall Way)

Record:
Games Won: 8
Games Drawn: 2
Games Lost: 2

Last 5:
05 Apr 2021: Stevenage 1 – 1 Bradford City
17 Aug 2021: Bradford City 4 – 1 Stevenage
08 Feb 2022: Stevenage 0 – 1 Bradford City
17 Sep 2022: Bradford City 3 – 0 Stevenage
11 Feb 2023: Stevenage 2 – 3 Bradford City

Stevenage:
Stevenage suffered only their second defeat of the season last weekend, succumbing to a single strike from striker Rob Street in a 1-0 loss at Lincoln City. Despite enjoying a majority of possession, Stevenage were well beaten throughout the contest, Lincoln City racking up 18 total shots to the visitors’ 4. The usually reliable creative outlet in attacking midfield, Dan Kemp, was kept quiet, while top scorer Jamie Reid (5) was only brought on with 14 minutes of normal time remaining – to little effect.

In truth, Harvey White was Stevenage’s stand out player, the 24 year old former Tottenham Hotspur youth player dominating the attacking and passing metrics, with stalwart defenders Carl Piergianni and Charlie Goode also heavily involved on the ball. Manager Alex Revell admitted his players “weren’t at (their) best” and took a while to get into the game under heavy Lincoln pressure.

Revell praised Lincoln City for putting the ball in the box and getting the ball forward early, both largely familiar attributes of Bradford City’s play under Graham Alexander, but it was Stevenage’s inability to keep the ball and pass more accurately that he felt was his side’s downfall. Still, Revell promised that Stevenage would “bounce back”, and bounce back they did, in a style, on Tuesday evening. A thumping 5-2 win over Crystal Palace U21’s may not be as impressive as it might seem given the poor performance of U21 sides in the EFL Trophy, but with the goals coming from fringe players like Phoenix Patterson (2), Jovan Malcolm and Lewis Orford, the result will be a timely boost ahead of the visit of 3rd place Bradford City.

For this upcoming game, Stevenage will be expected to lean heavily into their perfect ‘Home’ record in both league and cup, with the Boro having won no fewer than 7 home ties. Luton Town were the most recent League One victims of the high-flying Hertfordshire side, losing 2-0 with goals from Chem Campbell and Jordan Roberts. They now join the likes of Exeter City (2-1), Wycombe Wanderers (1-0), Northampton Town (2-0) and Rotherham United (1-0) as unsuccessful visitors. Note the defensive record – across all 5 League One games played at the Lamex, Stevenage have conceded just once – while scoring 8 in reply.

Away from home, Stevenage’s defence has been nowhere near as formidable, having conceded a full 8 – but sadly for the Bantams, that statistic will count for nought when they hit the road this Saturday. No side in the division has been even nearly as defensively watertight as Stevenage, with the next lowest tally being that of Northampton Town – who have conceded just 3 goals at the Sixfields, and notably held City to a 0-0 draw back in early August.

Don’t expect a glut of goals then, as Alex Revell’s assured back line has shown it can perform in front of a full house, just as they did when shutting out the aforementioned Luton Town. Typically seen playing a 4-2-3-1 formation, Stevenage are hardly a side littered with household names, but goalkeeper Filip Marschall has looked an extremely shrewd signing from Aston Villa, sitting back a well-settled centre back pairing of Charlie Goode and Carl Piergianni. The full back slots have been less consistent, with Jasper Pattenden recently winning his first league start of the campaign at right back, and Dan Butler and Lewis Freestone battling it out for the left back slot.

Ahead of then, Jordan Houghton and Harvey White have played in every league game in defensive midfield, with Dan Kemp and Chem Campbell also heavily relied upon further up the spine of the Stevenage side. Beryly Lubala has been a more recent addition to the XI, while Gassan Ahadme has deputised for Jamie Reid – though without the same impact, having netted just once in 9 total league appearances (7 from the bench).

Lincoln City 1 – 0 Stevenage


Stevenage 2 – 0 Luton Town


Bradford City:
Bradford City’s surge to the top of the table was exhilarating, but back-to-back 4-goal draws against South Yorkshire opposition have seen the Bantams drop to 3rd. That’s hardly a disgrace, and something any sane City fan would have snatched your hand off for in preseason, but while the goals continue to flow, an injury-stretched backline continues to creak.

Conceding 4 goals in 2 games is a cause for concern, and the quality of Reyes Cleary’s equaliser from Barnsley’s own half at Valley Parade last Saturday will split opinions about whether or not City (and Sam Walker) should be letting that kind of goal in. Some will say there’s nothing you can do – others will blame the goalkeeper for losing the flight of the ball and conceding a goal of the season contender he could have potentially saved. Either way, the recent leaks in the backline are hardly down to Walker individually. Neill Byrne, Joe Wright and Tom McIntyre are unlikely to be any City fan’s ideal back 3, but the fact left wing back Ibou Touray has deputised for so long at centre back is another hint that things aren’t all rosy in the garden. Hopefully the injury crisis in defence eases – quickly – because there are more issues elsewhere to contend with. Both Alex Pattison and homegrown hero Bobby Pointon will miss the trip to Stevenage on Saturday – but it’s not all bad news. Matthew Pennington, one of City’s more consistent defenders could return after a concussion kept him out for 3 weeks, and if he is fit to feature, that will be a major boon for a side that must get back to keeping things much tighter at the back.

Certainly the chances of City rocking up at Stevenage, the best ‘Home’ defence in the league, and scoring enough to account for the backline woes seems unlikely – but then, if City can overwhelm Stevenage like Lincoln City did last time out, then nothing can be ruled out. This is the same City side that went to Cardiff City and thrashed them 3-1 in South Wales, and who have consistently beaten the top performing sides home or away. The fact is, Stevenage are the only member of the top 5 City haven’t already beaten yet this season, with AFC Wimbledon and Stockport County joining Cardiff on the post-City scrapheap. Another victory against a promotion rival would further underline the Bantams’ credentials as serious players in the chase for Championship football.

Bradford City 2 – 2 Barnsley


Rotherham United 2 – 2 Bradford City


Prediction:
Just as Bradford City might have expected to extend their perfect ‘Home’ record against Barnsley last weekend, Stevenage will come into this top-of-the-table 6 pointer with ambitions of yet another home win. As we saw with the Bantams-Barnsley thriller, however, things don’t always go to plan – or indeed the form book – in these sorts of fixtures.

Stevenage are a good side, and Alex Revell has them consistently grinding out results, especially at the Lamex. Bradford City’s ‘Away’ form isn’t at the same level, but nor is it as poor as it was last campaign. Already sat 6th in the ‘Away’ league table, the Bantams have earned 2 wins, 3 draws and suffered just 1 defeat in the league. They also have a pair of impressive giant killings to their credit in the form of EFL Cup conquests at Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City – compared to last season, it might as well be night and day!

The issue, as outlined above, is City’s defensive frailty thanks in no small part to some serious injury problems. While the Bantams look likely to buck the trend of sides failing to score at the Lamex, it doesn’t look particularly likely that they’ll keep Stevenage out at the other end. With both teams probably likely to score, 1-1 might seem like the logical outcome – but there is scope for City to put Stevenage under consistent pressure if they can make a red hot start.

That said, Stevenage have masters at shutting sides down on home soil, and whatever the cause of the duality in terms of defensive outcomes between playing at home and playing away, only Exeter City have managed a goal in Stevenage so far this season, and even then they were kept to a minimum (1). That’s 1 conceded across 5 outings, though another 3 have been shipped by Stevenage’s second string in the EFL Trophy in recent games – not that that will count for much when Goode and Piergianni are the centre back pairing as expected.

The pick, then, will be a surprise 2-1 away win for the Bantams, just as long as they are able to make a good start and maintain the kind of press they utilized so well against the likes of Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City. There’s just something about this Graham Alexander-assembled side that gives them the edge over other promotion rivals – let’s hope that continues on Saturday!

Final Score:

Stevenage 1 – 2 Bradford City