The Voice - Match preview #43: Bradford City vs Notts County Thursday 17th April 8:00pm

EFL League Two Fixture #43
Thursday 17th April 2025 20:00
Bradford City (2nd) vs Notts County (6th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

Record:
Games Won: 23
Games Drawn: 16
Games Lost: 31

Last 5:
28 Dec 2014: Bradford City 1 – 0 Notts County
14 Mar 2015: Notts County 1 – 1 Bradford City
18 Nov 2023: Notts County 4 – 2 Bradford City
19 Mar 2024: Bradford City 0 – 3 Notts County
21 Dec 2024: Notts County 3 – 0 Bradford City

Notts County:
Notts County have an excellent recent record against Bradford City, thrashing them in all 3 of their encounters in the 2020’s. Even the 4-2 defeat seems to flatter the Bantams somewhat as County had the game sewn up by half time (4-0) before easing their foot off the gas in the second. Back-to-back 3-0 batterings for Bradford City will make for uneasy reading ahead of what is arguably the biggest game of the season so far.

The strike force of Alassana Jatta and David McGoldrick proved much too ruthless at Meadow Lane earlier this season, Jatta grabbing a brace and McGoldrick getting the other in another first half blitz, only this time Notts County were much less sloppy in a done-and-dusted second half. Last season Jatta grabbed another brace at Valley Parade, with his strike partner Macaulay Langstaff getting the other, showing what a superb acquisition he has been for the Magpies. This season, Jatta (17) is the club’s top scorer in his first full season, though McGoldrick (16) is hot on his heels. The two forwards have made up the vast majority of County’s goals, though Jodi Jones (5), George Abbott (4), Charlie Whitaker (4) and Dan Crowley (4) are all worth a mention as alternative goal threats.

Now, Jatta and McGoldrick find themselves in a race-to-the-finish to become County’s leading marksman for the season – but more importantly, they must help fire the Nottinghamshire side to at least a playoff place. The automatic promotion spots look a little too distant after a mediocre series of results that have seen County win just 3 of their last 10 outings. It’s worth noting that across those 10 games, County’s home form has been particularly poor with 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats, while away from home things have been a little better for the Midlanders with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 2 defeats. Back-to-back defeats to Colchester United (A 0-1) and Salford City (H 1-3) have also left their chances of a playoff place in peril with the club sitting just 3 points above 8th place Colchester United, who have made up serious ground with back-to-back wins themselves.

To say Notts County have it all to play for, like City, is an understatement. The question is, after a couple of instances of resting top scorer Jatta in recent games, will County bring their full firepower to the fore with that fearsome Jatta/McGoldrick strike force at Valley Parade? If they do, that spells bad news for a Bantams side also struggling for form of late.

So what to expect from Notts County? Like last season (when County were far and away the division’s top goalscorers, albeit with an awful defence), the Magpies are again right up there with a haul of 62 goals. Only Walsall (72) and Swindon Town (66) have out-struck them. Their defence, however, is much improved. While last season Notts County conceded a shocking 86 goals (they scored 89!), this season they have conceded precisely half that: their tally of 43 conceded is the fifth best in the division behind AFC Wimbledon (32), Bradford City (39), Port Vale (40), and Colchester United (40). A marked improvement, and one which explains why the club have performed so much better.

County remain a possession-heavy side even in defeat, and racked up a whopping 71.5 % possession in the recent 1-0 defeat at Colchester United. They are the current leaders of the League Two Possession Table with an average of 62.2 %, but it’s not just dead possession – they are also 3rd in the xG table, showing that by and large they have got the balance right. By rights, the club should expect to be more involved in the race for the auto places, but a recent wobble looks to have put paid to that – unless they can launch a last minute rescue operation starting with a victory at a packed Valley Parade on Thursday evening. It’s now or never for Notts County.

Notts County 1 – 3 Salford City


Colchester United 1 – 0 Notts County


Bradford City:
Heartbreak for Bradford City came in the most unexpected form. 2-0 up against midtable Swindon Town inside 10 minutes and everything was going according well. Almost too well, in fact… and so it proved.

Richie Smallwood’s clumsy and wholly unnecessary challenge on the halfway line gave the referee the opportunity to brandish a red card in just the 14th minute and see City’s influential captain (and only out-and-out defensive midfielder) banned for 3 further matches. While City fought valiantly, taking further 3-1 and 4-3 leads, Swindon Town wouldn’t be denied. 2 own goals alongside that early red card gifted the Wiltshire outfit a win they scarcely looked capable of getting in the early going.

A sickener; but City must pick themselves up sharpish and find a way to re-jig the first XI in order to accommodate Smallwood’s untimely absence. The good news to emerge from the game was Calum Kavanagh’s first club hat trick, as well as a sparkling performance from Brad Halliday who helped himself to 2 assists and a goal (although he will be pleased Swindon Town were seemingly incapable of defending basic long throws…). The Bantams needed to win. They should have given themselves the best possible opportunity to win but instead snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Now they face a side that have utterly dominated them in their last 3 outings. Whether it’s the quality of the centre forwards or the general style of play, in any event City have been woeful in attempting to stop the surging Nottinghamshire-based side in any of their clashes in the 2020’s. What’s more, their defensive midfield lynchpin cannot help them try to stem the tide of a very attacking, high possession-based outfit.

The tea leaves do not make for pleasant reading.

But these are the games where heroes are forged, and memories that will last a lifetime are formed. Bradford City will once again call upon a bumper crowd to make this a visual and audible feast, turning Valley Parade into a cauldron one more time. So far both Colchester United and Crewe Alexandra have been overwhelmed at Fortress Valley Parade… will the huge game atmosphere melt this prolific (but slightly off-form) Notts County side?

City fans will hope recent illnesses in the camp have abated by Friday, and that the rampant goalscoring form of the likes of George Lapslie and Calum Kavanagh can be unleashed in full. Kavanagh has helped himself to 6 goals in his last 5 outings, taking his season’s tally to a very respectable 13. Could he be the player to push this City side ever further forward towards League One football next season? Can he pop up with the goods once again in what promises to be a scintillating contest?

The re-emergence of Antoni Sarcevic, likewise, will be a very welcome sight for City fans, particularly if it is he who has to drop deeper and fill that Smallwood-shaped gap in the centre of the park. Either way, the midfielder’s influence has been huge this season and just having him back amongst the options is a major boon for the Bantams.

If Swindon Town was ‘now or never’ in terms of righting the wrongs away from home, the fact City eventually lost only piles more pressure on to this particular fixture. This is a head-to-head game with a promotion rival. Victory for City not only solidifies their own automatic promotion hopes before anyone else has kicked a ball ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend, but it will come close to ending Notts County’s own automatic promotion push as well. The stakes could scarcely be higher.

Swindon Town 5 – 4 Bradford City


Bradford City 2 – 0 Crewe Alexandra

 

Prediction:
Looking at the past 3 games between these two sides, a comfortable Notts County win would seem an obvious pick. However, there are some mitigating factors here, not least the fact that Bradford City have become a monstrously tough proposition to face at Valley Parade. Let’s hope the damage to morale inflicted by that 5-4 defeat in the chaotic Swindon Town clash, the absence of captain Richie Smallwood, and the illness sweeping through the ranks don’t all conspire to condemn City to a fourth straight hammering at the hands of their Nottinghamshire opponents.

If David McGoldrick and Alassana Jatta both start, City will have to up their game immensely. Shackling two of the best strikers in League Two will not be an easy task for an unsettled City backline that has undergone a fair amount of tinkering in recent games. That said, Notts County aren’t exactly coming into this game on much better form than Bradford City are. When the pressure has been on to perform at Colchester United and then away at Salford City, Notts County were found wanting. Despite seeing less of the ball, Salford City were comfortably better than a pedestrian Notts County side, perhaps suggesting they are finding the pressure tough going themselves.

That they did, however, thrash MK Dons 3-0 directly prior to that pair of defeats is a stark reminder (if one was even needed…) that Notts County can turn it on at any given moment. They are a good goalscoring side with real threat and a generally solid defence. If they go ahead, they might expect to win at a canter here.

But nobody has beaten Bradford City at a canter on home soil this season. None of their defeats, either league or cup, have come by more than a single goal. There is a reason the Bantams have comfortably the best ‘Home’ league record of the season – they have performed immensely well under the lights in front of the huge Bradford City crowds.

I think that will happen again. Bradford City will need to get off to another excellent start and press their opponents from the opening whistle here. The pick will be a 2-1 win for the Bantams with the on-form Kavanagh and returning Sarcevic (whether starter or substitute) shining bright when it matters most.

Final Score:
Bradford City 2 – 1 Notts County