The Voice - Match preview #4: Grimsby Town vs Bradford City Saturday 31st August 2024 3:00pm

EFL League Two Fixture #4
Saturday 31st August 2024 15:00
Grimsby Town vs Bradford City
Blundell Park

Record:
Games Won: 31
Games Drawn: 19
Games Lost: 19

Last 5:
01 Apr 2023: Bradford City 3 – 2 Grimsby Town
09 Sep 2023: Bradford City 1 – 1 Grimsby Town
10 Oct 2023: Grimsby Town 1 – 2 Bradford City [EFL Trophy]
01 Apr 2024: Grimsby Town 1 – 1 Bradford City
13 Aug 2024: Grimsby Town 1 – 1 Bradford City [EFL Cup]

Grimsby Town:
Grimsby Town’s reward for dumping Bradford City out of the first round of the EFL Cup on penalties two weeks back was a home tie with Sheffield Wednesday. The game was played on Tuesday evening, and saw The Owls run out convincing 5-1 winners. Defender Cameron McJannet initially had the 6,364 in attendance at Blundell Park dreaming of far better outcomes after 18 minutes when he headed home a Charles Vernam corner to give Grimsby the lead, before Kieran Green hit the bar with another header that could have made it 2-0. Grimsby would, impressively, retain the lead until half time, before Sheffield Wednesday blew their League Two opposition away with a five-star, five-goal second half salvo.

Ike Ugbo levelled, before setting up Jamal Lowe a minute later. Callum Paterson added a brace to take the tally to 4, before Danny Rohl’s Wednesday side rounded off the scoring with a goal from defender Pol Valentin.

While Sheffield Wednesday’s resources clearly made them huge favourites, Grimsby Town will still have some concerns about already losing their third game of the season. The season started with a 1-0 defeat at newly relegated Fleetwood Town, before the Mariners saw off Bradford City in the EFL Cup. A 3-2 home win over Cheltenham Town seemed to suggest things were on the up, before back-to-back hammerings at the hands of Notts County (4-1 away) and Sheffield Wednesday (5-1 at home). With 9 goals conceded over the course of 5 days, there will be an inquest from manager David Artell, himself a former defender, and much better levels of organization will be expected as they once again welcome Bradford City to Blundell Park.

The League Two table suggests City should be the favourites, but knocking City out of the League Cup will give Grimsby confidence against the early highflyers. Graham Alexander may not have unleashed his strongest XI that day, and he may not have gone back to some of those players to start the other league games, but it was far from a side full of kids or bona fide reserve quality talent. Players like Jack Shepherd, Jamie Walker, Clarke Oduor and Vadaine Oliver stepped in, but the best Bradford City could muster was an away draw thanks to substitute Andy Cook coming on to save their blushes with a second half equaliser.

Grimsby enjoyed the majority of possession against Bradford City, though City piled on the pressure in search of their eventual equaliser, resulting in more shots on and off target. That statistic will ensure David Artell will be wary of meaningless possession, such as the 65.4 % they had in the 1-0 opening day defeat at Fleetwood Town, where they still managed just 1 shot (off target) all game. There is no point in having the ball for two-thirds of the game if you have no attacking threat…

That did change against Cheltenham Town, though, when Grimsby Town deservedly won their only home game of the season so far, on-loan midfielder Jordan Davies helping himself to a brace while ex-Bradford City winger Charles Vernam also opened his account. In isolation, that result shows Grimsby Town do have the ability to compete in League Two, despite a fairly weak-looking squad on paper. The 4-1 mauling at the hands of Notts County saw them out-played in all areas, as did the Sheffield Wednesday defeat, but are Bradford City on the same level as the Nottinghamshire side?

David Artell has acknowledged the quality of opposition in the last two games, but also added “There were things where irrespective of the opposition, we have to stop them. We’ve got to make sure we learn from that and that is the key thing. How we are in our shape and how we pressed first half [against Sheffield Wednesday] was a big improvement from Thursday [against Notts County] so we have to keep building on that.”

That will be the order of the day as Bradford City head to the seaside, at least from the home perspective.

Notts County 4 – 1 Grimsby Town



Grimsby Town 3 – 2 Cheltenham Town



Bradford City:
The start to the 24/25 campaign has probably exceeded early expectations for Bradford City fans, and that is a refreshing change!

Sat in 2nd place, behind Gillingham on Goal Difference, City are one of just 6 sides that have not lost any of their opening 3 league fixtures, and are good value for their position. A tough opening day fixture at MK Dons resulted in a 3 point haul, and the Bantams also inflicted upon Bromley their first ever EFL defeat this past weekend with an accomplished display.

Concerns about the quality of some of the Summer signings have not yet come to pass, and though City’s defence hasn’t been watertight (an area of particular concern according to some fans), the midfield and the forward line have done a good job in terms of general efficiency in front of goal. City sit 6th in the ‘XG’ table, and what’s more, have a positive ‘Actual’ score of +0.24 in excess of that achievement. Predictably, big spenders Notts County and Chesterfield are two of the few teams currently outgunning City in terms of both XG and Actual stats, but City are showing they pack a punch themselves.

Andy Cook is off the mark with 2 goals so far this season, one at Grimsby Town no less, the other against 10-man Bromley, while Alex Pattison and Richie Smallwood have a goal apiece from midfield (Smallwood converting from the spot after whiffing an effort also at Grimsby). Bobby Pointon rounds off the scoring for City despite being employed as an impact sub in all of his 3 appearances this season – and the former Academy player continues to be one to watch whenever Graham Alexander lets him off the leash.

And yet, there is a sense there is more to come from this City side. The Bantams have kept just 1 clean sheet across their 4 games so far and failed to score at home against the 11 men of Salford City, who have had a disastrous start so far. Does the Bromley game paper over some of the cracks, or is an unnecessarily negative interpretation?

We will find out in the coming games, but going to Grimsby Town and avenging the EFL Cup penalty defeat can only add to the sense of momentum that is building at Valley Parade. Away wins may still be a bonus, but with Grimsby Town looking like a mediocre team, this is a perfect opportunity – with plenty of personal motivation to drive the players – to bag a second already this campaign.

The fixtures only get harder from here, with bogey side Carlisle United set to visit Valley Parade, followed league fixtures against Walsall (3rd) and AFC Wimbledon (8th), getting points on the board early is paramount. There is no reason City cannot beat a Grimsby Town side fresh off the back of successive thrashings, but that does not mean it will be easy. If anything, the Mariners’ resolve to put it right will likely be stronger still.

Bradford City 3 – 1 Bromley



Bradford City 0 – 0 Salford City



Prediction:

It’s sometimes hard to look past a repeat result when fixtures against the same side crop up (almost) back-to-back. A draw at Blundell Park would not be unexpected, and the fact 4 of the last 6 ties between the two teams in recent seasons have ended in a stalemate only adds to that likelihood. That 3 of the last 4 ties between Bradford City and Grimsby Town ended 1-1 also tells its own story.

A 1-1 scoreline is, perhaps, the most likely outcome here. Had City been at home, they might be favoured slightly more, as their recent record against Grimsby Town at Valley Parade is superior to their overall record against the Mariners – but draws have still been a theme when these two lock horns.

Then again, Grimsby Town will think it is high team they beat Bradford City outright. Not since October 1998 have Grimsby Town beaten Bradford City over the course of 90 minutes, and they’ve had 22 attempts to do so during that time! If Bradford City rue ‘bogey teams’ of their own, it might be comforting to know that they are, at least, somebody else’s!

With all of that in mind, and despite Bradford City’s superior results so far this season, despite the advantage held in terms of XG, and despite the fact they are scoring at a higher clip (6 goals in 4 games vs 6 goals in 5 games for Grimsby), it’s difficult to shake the feeling this will be close – very close – and if it’s not a draw, 1-0 or 2-1 seems far more likely than a more comprehensive win either way. Bradford City are yet to blow a team away quite like Notts County did to Artell’s side, and Grimsby Town will be looking for a response to recent hammerings.

With Andy Cook once again proving to be a real aerial threat, with a midfield with much better balance, and with a legitimately threatening substitute in Bobby Pointon, City edging a tight game does look decent value.

The pick will be a 2-1 win for the Bantams as they head into a slightly tougher and more densely packed series of fixtures over the course of the next few weeks that includes EFL Trophy ties with Newcastle United U21’s and League One Mansfield Town.

Final Score:
Grimsby Town 1 – 2 Bradford City