Match Thread Bradford City V Rochdale Tuesday 10 January 2023 @ 7.45

League Two Fixture #24

Tuesday 10th January 2023 19:45
Bradford City (5th) vs Rochdale (23rd)
Valley Parade (AKA University of Bradford Stadium)

Most Recent Results:

1: Bradford City 1 – 3 Northampton Town
2: Leyton Orient 3 – 0 Bradford City
3: Carlisle United 1 – 0 Bradford City
4: Bradford City 1 – 0 Harrogate Town
5: Bradford City 3 – 2 Salford City

Form: WWLLL

1: Rochdale 1 – 4 Harrogate United
2: Rochdale 1 – 2 Hartlepool United
3: Doncaster Rovers 4 – 3 Rochdale
4: Barrow 0 – 0 Rochdale
5: Rochdale 1 – 1 Newport County

Form: DDLLL

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: DWLWL

20 Oct 2018: Bradford City 0 – 2 Rochdale
29 Dec 2018: Rochdale 0 – 4 Bradford City
12 Nov 2019: Bradford City 1 – 2 Rochdale [Football League Trophy]
02 Oct 2021: Bradford City 2 – 0 Rochdale
22 Jan 2022: Rochdale 0 – 0 Bradford City

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 48
Drawn: 22
Lost: 28

Biggest Margin of Victory:

29 Nov 1958: Bradford City 7 – 1 Rochdale [League Division Three]
21 Sep 1968: Rochdale 6 – 0 Bradford City [League Division Four]

Spoiler: Historic Results Analysis

Bradford City vs Rochdale is a tie that dates back to 1927, and the two have played each other an astonishing 98 times in total. This weekend will be fixture #99 between City and their Lancashire rivals, and game #100 will take place at Spotland in April 2023.

To date, City have enjoyed a significantly superior head-to-head record, but that has not been borne out in the last five results – the clubs are level pegging with 2 wins and 1 draw apiece. In line with this, results in recent decades have been somewhat erratic, with neither club able to take 6 points off the other since the 1980/81 season, when City beat Rochdale 2-0 away and 2-1 at home.

While City have failed to extract a full quota of 6 points from Rochdale during the last 41 years, they have at least managed to score 4 several times – and 4 points from 2 games has become the most common outcome. Can City finally win home and away this season? Or will Rochdale continue to frustrate The Bantams?

Rochdale 2022/23:
Jim Bentley: 'We are not in a panic', after 7 games without a win

If Rochdale are not in a panic, they must be at least starting to sweat, as former Morecambe manager Jim Bentley continues to fail to impress. With a win percentage of just 22.7 %, Bentley (a surprise appointment after being sacked by non-league AFC Fylde) needs to turn things around quickly if he is to remain in charge.

Currently sat 23rd in the League Two table and in a real relegation dog fight, Bentley's Rochdale side find themselves 2 points from safety, and 3 ahead of rock bottom Gillingham – although the Gills have a game in hand. To say they could finish bottom this season is no exaggeration, and their current form remains uninspiring.

Still, two successive draws against Barrow (0-0) and Newport County (1-1) have seen Rochdale tighten up a defence that had previously conceded 10 goals in 3 games. The reintroduction of defenders Aidan White and Sam Graham seems to have allowed the 'Dale to steady the ship somewhat, although worryingly, Rochdale didn't manage a single shot on target in the away draw against Barrow last Monday.

Against Newport today (Saturday 7th January), Rochdale showed more fight and more creativity, matching their Welsh opponents in term of both possession and shots on target. They did not, however, manage to defend a lead given to them by Devante Rodney, nor did they manage to improve on their recent run of just 1 win in 13 games across all competitions.

With striker Ian Henderson beginning to show his age, and top scorer Devante Rodney having notched just 5 goals, the January window could be a hugely important period for the Lancashire side. If they are unable to improve on the output of their other high scoring players like Scott Quigley (4) and Ian Henderson (3), it could be a long, drawn out battle for survival.

Bradford City 2022/23:
Hughes has Bradford City on-song with back-to-back home wins - can they make it 3 in a row?

What a difference a week can make.

Ahead of the home game against Harrogate Town, Bradford City had lost 4 straight games, including a cup tie against Salford City. Fast forward to New Year's Day 2023, however, and Bantams fans were celebrating back-to-back wins over two form sides.

Harrogate Town had been free-scoring in a spell that saw them win three straight League Two games, while Salford City have continued their good form with a win today against automatic promotion-chasing Northampton Town – meaning that, despite the loss to Bradford City, they have won 5 of their last 7 games in all competitions.

The Salford City vs Northampton Town result, in particular, has massive potential implications for Bradford City, as Mark Hughes' men look to notch up a third straight home league win (who would have thought we'd be saying that earlier this season?) and close the gap on their promotion rivals. With a gap that stands at 7 points, but with 2 games in hand for Bradford City, The Bantams are in the enviable position of trying to chase down a team under increasing pressure.

Tuesday against Rochdale is, therefore, particularly important for City, as no other League Two side will play midweek, making this game one of those quintessential 'games in hand'. Victory, and City close the gap between themselves and Northampton Town to 4 points – and still have a game in hand against Gillingham to come.

The margins are fine; but it is the character of Mark Hughes' men that seems to have impressed City fans of late. Rather than succumb to the doom and gloom associated with a poor run of form, The Bantams turned it around when they most needed to. Harrogate Town must have been confident of picking up at least a point at Valley Parade, but it was not to be; Tyreik Wright notched his 4th league goal of the season, before Vadaine Oliver finally got his name back on the scoresheet in a thrilling 3-2 win over Salford City.

Now, with their tails up, City must look at Rochdale as a very winnable tie indeed.

Highlights:

Bradford City 3 – 2 Salford City



Rochdale 1 – 1 Newport County

https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/12781878/rochdale-1-1-newport [LINK]

Outlook:

No game is ever concluded until the final whistle, and while Bradford City will be brimming with confidence ahead of a third straight home league game, Rochdale will be coming with intentions of springing a surprise having avoided defeat in back-to-back games.

Richard O'Donnell will make his first return to Valley Parade since leaving in the Summer, the 34 year old making an impressive 122 league starts for the Bantams. The so-called 'law of the ex' will be on the mind of some fans, as O'Donnell would no doubt love to show City fans what they're missing.

That said, O'Donnell is part of a defence that is far leakier than the current City back line. Bradford City have conceded 23 (exactly 1 a game on average) compared to Rochdale's 36.

Rochdale have also scored significantly fewer (19) than City (30). That might come as no surprise, but with Rochdale scoring less than 1 goal a game, they are joint second lowest scorers in League Two – only Gillingham's paltry tally of 7 is worse.

A statistic that might surprise some readers is that Rochdale are far from incompetent in terms of possession. In three of their last four league outings, Rochdale have actually enjoyed the majority of possession; but have still failed to register a win in any of them. Even in the 4-1 home defeat against Harrogate Town, the possession statistics were close to 50-50.

So what exactly is going wrong for Rochdale?

One thing that stands out is that in their past 6 games, Rochdale's leading player in terms of 'total passes' has failed to also be the leading player in terms of 'passes completed'. That is a shocking statistic, and combined with the fact that the player with the most 'total passes' is generally a defender, suggests Rochdale might be making many of their own problems for themselves. Ethan Ebanks-Landell, in particular, has a poor pass completion despite copious time on the ball, and when compared to, say, Richie Smallwood or Romoney Crichlow, it's not hard to see why Rochdale are lagging so far behind their West Yorkshire rivals.

Look for City to pressure Rochdale's back line, then, and potentially capitalise on any mistakes. With Vadaine Oliver likely maintaining a physical, mobile presence up front, and with Andy Cook raring to come off the bench and make an impact, Rochdale will have to defy recent statistics and play with a tight, high-accuracy passing game.

Expect the pace and skill of Tyreik Wright to have an impact, while the likes of Abo Eisa and Jamie Walker will be desperate to get on the scoresheet as and when they are introduced.

All signs point to the strength and depth of Mark Hughes' squad as a major source of confidence ahead of this home tie against struggling opposition, in what could turn out to be a more open game than some will expect. It's certainly not that Rochdale don't enjoy possessing the ball and trying to attack; it's just that they ultimately lack the quality to compete in League Two at present.

Still, Rochdale have not lost away from home by more than a single goal in any away game since a 3-0 hammering at Northampton Town back in mid-September. Can Bradford City flex their muscles and do the same as their automatic promotion rivals? I think maybe they can. This game is too important for Bradford City to fail to turn up in.

Odds:

4/5: Bradford City
11/4: Draw
10/3: Rochdale

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Bradford City 3 – 0 Rochdale