The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Carlisle United Tuesday 21 March 2023 @ 7:45pm

League Two Fixture #26

Saturday 21st January 2023 15:00
Bradford City (7th) vs Carlisle United (4th)
Valley Parade (AKA University of Bradford Stadium)

Most Recent Results:

1: Carlisle United 1 – 0 Bradford City
2: Bradford City 1 – 0 Harrogate Town
3: Bradford City 3 – 2 Salford City
4: Bradford City 1 – 2 Rochdale
5: AFC Wimbledon 0 – 0 Bradford City

Form: DLWWL

1: Northampton Town 2 – 1 Carlisle United
2: Carlisle United 1 – 0 Bradford City
3: Crewe Alexandra 0 – 3 Carlisle United
4: Doncaster Rovers 2 – 1 Carlisle United
5: Carlisle United 2 – 0 Newport County

Form: WLWWL

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: LWLLL

05 Dec 2020: Bradford City 0 – 1 Carlisle United
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

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 22
Drawn: 14
Lost: 21

Biggest Margin of Victory:

24 Nov 1951: Bradford City 6 – 1 Carlisle United [FA Cup]
07 Apr 1953: Bradford City 7 – 2 Carlisle United [Division Three (North)]

Spoiler: Historic Results Analysis

Carlisle United took one step closer to achieving parity in terms of historic results, and now find themselves just 1 win short of their West Yorkshire rivals. While Brunton Park has been a nightmarish hunting ground for Bradford City, the same cannot necessarily be said for games taking place at Valley Parade – Bradford City beat Carlisle United 2-0 at home last season.

However, with just 4 wins in their last 13 fixtures against Carlisle United, the momentum lies firmly with the Cumbrians. 4 wins in their last 5 encounters is a fantastic record for Carlisle United, and they find themselves ahead of Bradford City in the League Two table this season to boot.

Mark Hughes will be very keen to maintain a 100 % winning record against Carlisle United at home, and prevent Carlisle from levelling it up in terms of overall results.

Carlisle United 2022/23:
Only 5 league defeats this season combined with 10 clean sheets is just the platform Carlisle United needed

Under Paul Simpson, Carlisle United have been reborn as legitimate promotion contenders. Despite not having the most technically gifted or most sought after players to draw on, Simpson has nonetheless moulded Carlisle into an extremely difficult side to beat.

Not only that, but Carlisle have scored in all of their last 8 fixtures, and have outscored Bradford City by a full 8 goals this season. Defensively, they are just as capable as The Bantams with both conceding 25 league goals in total. But it's the fact that Carlisle United have suffered just 5 league defeats that has set them up for a successful campaign. Make no doubt about it, that statistic is worthy of automatic promotion – and The Cumbrians might just achieve it.

In terms of momentum, Carlisle United have won 3 of their last 4 games, and didn't concede a single goal in any of those victories – including the reverse fixture against Bradford City on Boxing Day.

Despite all of these positive trends, the unavoidable truth is that Paul Simpson's side have been losing more often lately. In the league, Carlisle United lost only one game between the start of the season (30 July 2022) right up to the home defeat by league leaders Leyton Orient (22 October 2022) – that's 1 league defeat in their first 13 league games.

In their most recent 13 league games, for contrast, Carlisle United have lost 4 times. They are more beatable lately; but they're also winning more games, and drawing fewer.

As they head to Valley Parade, Carlisle United will most likely be in buoyant mood, particularly given their recent record against Bradford City. A victory could close the gap on Northampton Town, a team 4 points ahead of them, but who have played 1 more game. They will no doubt look at the trip to Valley Parade as an opportunity to put real pressure on the weakest link of the current top 3 sides.

Bradford City 2022/23:
Mark Hughes continues to reinforce his squad, as Bola arrives and Foulds departs

Firstly, Bradford City find themselves in 7th place, still well in contention for the play offs, and still with a game in hand on some of the teams around them. They are 2 points behind Carlisle United, and could leap frog them with a win. Despite that, there is a sense that despondency is beginning to seep in to the minds of the Valley Parade faithful, if not for the players and management, who remain positive.

Setbacks such as the 2-1 home defeat against Rochdale, and the failure to beat AFC Wimbledon away from home, as well as defeats to promotion rivals Northampton Town and Leyton Orient, are all fresh in the mind. What appears to have made them worse is the timing of the defeats.

Bradford City have had their chances to close the gap – and even seize – third place, but have consistently failed to do so. On the plus side, when their backs have been against the walls – such as ahead of the Harrogate Town home fixture – Mark Hughes' men have responded positively, and put an end to mid-season losing streaks that have, in the past, been the bane of Bradford City.

So whether we are looking at this season from a glass half full perspective, or as a glass half empty-type affair, one thing is certain: Bradford City do still have a very legitimate opportunity to make a promotion push, and Mark Hughes and Glyn Hodges, as well as Head of Recruitment Stephen Gent, are far from throwing in the towel.

Recent arrivals signal as such. As Bradford City's defence has begun to stutter, Hughes has moved to replace left back Matthew Foulds with Rotherham United loanee Tolaji Boli, a more attacking full back who can also operate as a wing back. Hughes has bolstered the attacking options, too, with the arrival of veteran Matt Derbyshire, and has added an option at centre back in the form of Ireland's Ciaran Kelly. He has also replaced departed winger Tyreik Wright with two more options: Dara Costelloe from Burnley, and Thierry Nevers from West Ham.

Despite the influx of talent, it has still been too early for Bradford City fans to enjoy a fresh look to the City side. Kelly and Derbyshire have been deemed not quite ready, Nevers has made only brief substitute appearances, and Costelloe has played just short of an hour on his debut. Even the returning Jamie Walker has had limited minutes, and was sent off in the last game against AFC Wimbledon, meaning a suspension for this game.

Freshening up the first team, then, is a slow process.

With just over half the season gone, and just under two weeks left in the January transfer window, Bradford City fans might expect some more comings and goings as Hughes seeks to consolidate the club's current position in the play offs as a minimum – but with a solid run of form, it wouldn't be long before City were challenging for the automatic promotion spots once more.

At the same time, the bottom half of the table is only 4 points away. It's probably too early for Bradford City to be looking over their shoulders – but things can change very quickly in this division...

Highlights:

Bradford City 1 – 2 Rochdale



Carlisle United 2 - 0 Newport County



Carlisle United 1 - 0 Bradford City [Boxing Day 2022]



Outlook:

Both clubs will be looking at this game as a fantastic opportunity to claw back points on the top three. Carlisle United could sense weakness, with Bradford City having not won either of the pair of their most recent games, one of which was a painful defeat at home to struggling Rochdale. Carlisle will also be happy with their victory at Brunton Park just a handful of games ago, and will know their recent form against City is good.

But Bradford City are no pushovers, and are becoming increasingly hard to predict.

Just as defeat against Harrogate Town looked all but a certainty, Bradford City dragged themselves to a deserved win. Just when victory over Rochdale looked on the cards after back-to-back home wins, they slumped to a disappointing defeat, albeit in shocking conditions and with poor officiating thrown in for good measure.

There can be no excuses, though, for Bradford City's erratic form of late, and in truth, the form book and the league table is against them here. Bradford City aren't just playing a team that have done well against them, and are on better form in the league – they're also ahead of them in the table. Carlisle United, then, should be the favourites here.

A draw, on the face of it, would not be a bad result for either team, but would certainly favour Carlisle United more. A draw for Bradford City gives both Barrow and Mansfield Town the opportunity to overtake them, thus pushing them out of the play offs, and with Stockport County and Walsall both 3 points behind with a game in hand, The Bantams' position will look extremely perilous.

A win, therefore, is a must for City in a classic six-pointer. Will they show the requisite character, and battle their way to a huge win? Or is there really a soft underbelly to this team, who seem to collapse when they go behind, and lose leads when they go ahead too early?

The other question is, will any of the new faces have a positive impact on performances? Or is it too soon to expect them to make a big difference?

Odds:

13/10: Bradford City
23/10: Draw
21/10: Carlisle United

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Bradford City 1 – 2 Carlisle United