The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Carlisle United Sunday 14th May 2023 @ 7:00pm

League Two Play Off Semi-Final (First Leg)

Sunday 14th May 2023 19:00
Bradford City (6th) vs Carlisle United (5th)
Valley Parade (AKA University of Bradford Stadium)

Most Recent Results:

1: Swindon Town 1 – 0 Bradford City
2: Bradford City 2 – 2 Gillingham
3: Northampton Town 1 – 2 Bradford City
4: Crewe Alexandra 3 – 2 Bradford City
5: Bradford City 1 – 1 Leyton Orient

Form: LWDLW

1: Carlisle United 0 – 0 Northampton Town
2: Carlisle United 2 – 2 Stockport County
3: Barrow 0 – 1 Carlisle United
4: Carlisle United 2 – 3 Salford City
5: Sutton United 1 – 1 Carlisle United

Form: DLWDD

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form:

13 Mar 2021: Carlisle United 3 – 1 Bradford City
08 Jan 2022: Carlisle United 2 – 0 Bradford City
07 May 2022: Bradford City 2 – 0 Carlisle United
26 Dec 2022: Carlisle United 1 – 0 Bradford City
21 Mar 2023: Bradford City 0 – 0 Carlise United

Head-to-Head Results (All Time): DLWLL

Won: 22
Drawn: 15
Lost: 21

Biggest Margin of Victory:

24 Nov 1951: Bradford City 6 – 1 Carlisle United
07 Apr 1953: Bradford City 7 – 2 Carlisle United



Carlisle United 2022/23:
Carlisle United travel to their statistical doppelgangers for the EFL League Two play off semi-final first leg

To say there's little separating Carlisle United and Bradford City this season is an understatement, statistically speaking.

Both sides have managed 20 wins, 16 draws, and 10 defeats in the league.
Both sides have conceded exactly 43 goals.
Both sides limp into the play offs on mediocre form (Carlisle United managed 6 points from their last 5 games; Bradford City managed 7).
When they played each other home and away, only 1 goal separated the pair, with Carlisle United winning their home tie 1-0.

Lately, Carlisle United have tightened up their defence, but seemingly at the cost of goals going forward. Just 2 wins in their last 11 league fixtures is mirrored by a season-highest allocation of 4 0-0 draws in that same period. All of Stevenage, Bradford City, Walsall, and Northampton Town squeaked out goalless draws against the Cumbrians. Anomalous scores of 2-2 against Stockport County and a 3-2 defeat at home to Salford City have gone against the grain, but the trend for Carlisle United has been towards low-scoring affairs lately.

That said, Carlisle United had a mighty tough run in, facing 6 of the top 7 in their last 11 outings; they could be forgiven, then, for focussing on not losing as they sought to achieve a play off spot – which they duly did.

Congratulations should be in order to Paul Simpson's men, but if they are to achieve success in the play offs, surely the shackles must now come off.

That Carlisle United have managed just 5 shots on target in their last 3 league fixtures will be a cause for concern, and the pressure will mount on the likes of Omari Patrick (4) and top scorer Kristian Dennis (20) up front. A major blow for Carlisle United will be the absence of joint second-top scorer in midfielder Jon Mellish (6) due to suspension, though Owen Moxon (6) will be available for selection.

Perhaps one source of Carlisle United's goal-shy nature in recent weeks has been the decline in form of one of the season's most dangerous hitmen. While Dennis has an eye-catching 20 league goals this season, making him the division's 3rd most potent goalscorer, the fact the one-time Bantams target has managed just 3 goals in his last 17 outings is a cause for concern.

Are Carlisle United running out of steam at the wrong time? Certainly their best forward has been.

Still, Carlisle United have out-scored The Bantams by a full 5 goals this season. While Kristian Dennis' form seems to have evaporated, Carlisle United have delivered the kinds of beatings to certain teams that would leave Bradford City fans green with envy. Wins over Crawley Town (5-2), Barrow (5-1), Salford City (4-1) show that Carlisle United can be ruthless on their day – more ruthless than Mark Hughes' Bradford City, whose biggest wins are a pair of 3-0's against relegated Rochdale and promoted Stevenage.

Bradford City 2022/23:
Bradford City must now face opposition that they haven't beaten away from home since 1985, making the home tie even more vital

There won't be many Bradford City fans relishing the prospect of a trip to Brunton Park come Saturday 20th May 2023, particularly if The Bantams find themselves in need of a win. To say Carlisle has not been a happy hunting ground for Bradford City this past 38 years is an understatement!

That said, it's vital that The Bantams give themselves the best possible chance of achieving promotion this season by inflicting a defeat upon their North Eastern rivals at Valley Parade on Sunday. While Mark Hughes is certainly no believer in the importance of historical results, many City fans will breathe far easier with a lead to defend ahead of the crucial second leg.

Bradford City, though, managed only a 0-0 draw when Carlisle United visited this past March, and the players could only achieve 4 shots on goal (1 on target). The side that lines up against Carlisle United in this pivotal third encounter will likely be much the same, save for the absence of the injured Harry Chapman, and the likely continuation of Matty Platt on the Bantams bench with Romoney Crichlow preferred.

Other than that, there's unlikely to be any surprises among the Bradford City starting line up, which has been largely settled in the second half of this season. For better or worse, Carlisle United will be facing familiar foes.

Can Carlisle United once again successfully manage the threat of goal machine and golden boot winner Andy Cook? Certainly one cause for pessimism among City fans is that the former Carlisle United junior has never found the net against his first professional club!

Still, optimistically, Jamie Walker has. When Bradford City played Carlisle United on the final game of the 21/22 season around this time last year, Jamie Walker helped City to a 2-0 win. How a repeat of that feat would be welcomed by a rapturous Valley Parade come Sunday!

But as we all know... Bradford City scarcely do things the easy way, and we can expect a nerve-shredder of an encounter!

Highlights:

Carlisle United 1 - 0 Bradford City



Bradford City 0 - 0 Carlisle United



Outlook:

They say 'records are made to be broken'.

Step forward Andy Cook!

If there was ever a time for the former Carlisle United trainee to break his duck against his first professional club, how about aged 33 in the League Two play off semi finals?!

If he's to do that, he's going to have to get the better of a Carlisle United side that has been largely settled this season. Left back Jack Armer and goalkeeper Tomas Holy are two of the few players in League Two to have played a full complement of 46 games this season (Harry Lewis is the Bantams only ever-present in the league this campaign), while Owen Moxon (45), Callum Guy (45), Jordan Gibson (45), Kristian Dennis (44) and Paul Huntingdon (40) run them close in terms of appearances. Jon Mellish (43) will, however, be absent due to suspension after shoving former Bantam Elliot Watt in a fiery tie against Salford City.

Bradford City fans will certainly be keeping a firm eye on their former players Callum Guy, Jordan Gibson (likely to be a substitute if recent form is anything to go by), and Omari Patrick, all of whom have hurt City in the past. Jamie Devitt, meanwhile, will not be a factor having undergone surgery to treat a hamstring injury this week.

Conversely, Alex Gilliead and Adam Clayton join Andy Cook on the list of Carlisle United alumni, and both may be keen to get one over their former employers – although neither will likely feature prominently on many people's lists of expected goalscorers!

Such low standing in terms of anticipated goal threat didn't stop Brad Halliday, however, from being the unlikely hero that netted the pivotal goal in Bradford City's promotion charge this season. His equaliser against champions Leyton Orient was enough to secure this tie, and move the Bantams above Salford City in the table.

With a low scoring affair expected, will there be another shock goalscorer for The Bantams? And have the City defence at last redeemed themselves for a season-long lack of goals, with all of Halliday, Crichlow and Stubbs getting on the scoresheet lately? Perhaps it will be one of these 3 who bag the winner...

But then, it's unlikely Carlisle United themselves will be looking past Andy Cook as the main threat – just as Bradford City will not discount the off-form Kristian Dennis.

Odds:

5/4: Bradford City
2/1: Draw
5/2: Carlisle United

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Bradford City 1 – 0 Carlisle United