The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Colchester United Saturday 4th March 2023 @ 3:00pm

League Two Fixture #33

Saturday 4th March 2023 15:00
Bradford City vs Colchester United
The University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

Most Recent Results:

1: Stevenage 2 – 3 Bradford City
2: Bradford City 2 – 0 Tranmere Rovers
3: Bradford City 0 – 1 Barrow
4: Doncaster Rovers 0 – 1 Bradford City
5: Gillingham 0 – 2 Bradford City

Form: WWLWW

1: Colchester United 1 – 1 Barrow
2: Grimsby Town 0 – 1 Colchester United
3: Colchester United 0 – 0 Walsall
4: Carlisle United 1 – 0 Colchester United
5: Colchester United 0 – 1 Northampton Town

Form: LLDWD

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: LLDWD
12 Sep 2020: Bradford City 0 – 0 Colchester United
27 Mar 2021: Colchester United 1 – 2 Bradford City
08 Dec 2021: Bradford City 0 – 0 Colchester United
18 Apr 2022: Colchester United 3 – 0 Bradford City
16 Aug 2022: Colchester united 1 – 0 Bradford City

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 9
Drawn: 14
Lost: 16

Biggest Margin of Victory:

30 Dec 1961: Colchested United 9 – 1 Bradford City [League Division Four]

NEW FEATURE!

For Better or Worse:
First Half of the Season vs Second Half of the Season Analysis

Stevenage: WIN followed by WIN – Equal
Tranmere Rovers: WIN followed by WIN – Equal
Barrow: DEFEAT followed by DEFEAT
Doncaster Rovers: DRAW followed by WIN
Colchester United: DEFEAT followed by ???

Results so far: The second half of the season has seen an improvement by 1 point



Colchester United 2022/23:
It's all change at Colchester United as Matt Bloomfield quits for Wycombe Wanderers, and the U's await their next appointment

The departure of manager Matt Bloomfield has come as a major shock after just 5 months in charge at Colchester United, and occurred just as The U's looked to be turning things round after a busy January transfer window. Bloomfield had managed to turn around the worst away record in the country (0 wins until Boxing Day), with Colchester United embarking on an impressive 5 game winning streak away from home. That, however, came to an end last time out at Carlisle United, 3 days before Bloomfield agreed to take over the reins at Wycombe Wanderers.

A Wycombe legend, Bloomfield was essentially a one-club man, playing 488 games for the Chairboys, and scoring 40. No wonder, then, that his arrival has been welcomed vociferously by the League One club, despite Bloomfield's limited experience as head coach. The gap in the dug out at Colchester, then, has been temporarily filled by ex-Leyton Orient manager Ross Embleton on a caretaker basis, but the bookies have installed Ben Garner as the favourite to take the full time appointment, and Colchester have made it clear they wish to make an appointment sooner rather than later.

Whether that appointment can be made in time for the away fixture at Bradford City remains to be seen, but either way, the U's will be looking to stymie a two-game losing run, amid hopes of resurrecting their recent good times on the road.

One of the lowest scoring teams in the division, Colchester United have scored just 31 goals from their 34 league games, and this has been the leading cause of their overall poor performance this season. Only Rochdale, Gillingham and Crewe Alexandra have scored fewer, but defensively Colchester are one of the better performing sides in the bottom 6 – and have conceded fewer than Mansfield Town, Barrow, and Doncaster Rovers.

One positive addition to the Colchester United defence has been ex-Bradford City centre half Fiacre Kelleher, who has scored twice since his January switch, and will almost certainly line up against his former employers this weekend. Connor Wood is also likely to play, having signed on loan from Leyton Orient in January, and could occupy a more advanced role than City fans will be familiar with, as he operates at left wing back.

Going forward, the stats make for grim reading for Colchester fans. Defender Junior Tchamadeu (4) and Noah Chilvers (4) are, amazingly, the club's top marksmen, while a whole host of players find themselves on anything from 1 goal to 3 – including several forwards who seem to find themselves rotated frequently. January signing Matt Jay, yet to get off the mark, might be the favourite to start, possibly alongside Kwesi Appiah (3), and fellow newcomer Tom Hopper, who has scored 6 goals in total after netting 5 times for Lincoln City.

Without a single goal in any of their last 3 games, though, it's clear things haven't clicked lately for a club that had gone on that impressive and aforementioned away streak of 5 straight wins. Like Gillingham, however, all 5 wins came against poorly performing sides, and might not be indicative of what Bradford City can expect this Saturday afternoon.

Bradford City 2022/23:
City establish themselves as the best away side in League Two (points per game), but at home it's been a different story

If the defeat at home to Barrow taught us anything, it might be that there is such a thing as too much possession after all.

The subsequent (and excellent) away wins at Doncaster Rovers and Gillingham came with nowhere near as much dominance of the ball, but with far superior attacking statistics. The Tranmere Rovers home win, likewise, saw City make the most of their time on the ball, and stifle their opponents to just a series of dangerous-looking crosses.

Seemingly resilient against set pieces, and getting better at utilising their own, Bradford City will want to be at their dynamic best if they're to beat Colchester United at home, and make amends for a series of disappointing outcomes that have come just as The Bantams look like making serious headway in the League Two table.

It won't just be the fans that want to see an improvement at home – it won't have evaded Mark Hughes, the coaches, or any of the players, either – and despite the reluctance to assume performances at home will match those given in an away games, it's worth noting that Bradford City's home record isn't that bad, relatively speaking, when compared to fellow promotion chasers like Salford City, Mansfield Town, or even Swindon Town. It could be that the first of this particular mini-group to address their mediocre home form could be the one to launch a serious challenge for the automatic promotion spots.

Whether that will prove to Bradford City or not depends on whether the recent good form amounts to more than another false dawn for a side that have frequently flirted with – but continually failed to establish themselves in – the top three.

Highlights:

Gillingham 0 – 2 Bradford City



Colchester United 0 – 1 Northampton Town



Colchester United 1 – 0 Bradford City



Outlook:

Colchester United are 1 of only 4 teams to beat Bradford City at their home ground in the league this season, and that alone will be cause for optimism for the travelling fans. Colchester United have tended to mix quick counter attacks with a real threat from direct balls and set pieces, harking back somewhat to the tactics employed by Phil Parkinson – a legend, no question, at both clubs.

But this current Colchester United side is a shadow of the successful team put together by Parkinson many years ago, while Bradford City are employing a completely different set of tactics – a more modern, possession-centric approach that, unfortunately, hasn't worked too well at home against teams who come and opt to sit in for long periods.

How Colchester United approach this game will be interesting, particularly after watching Bradford City lose in disappointing fashion at home to both Barrow and Rochdale lately. But City arguably put in their most complete performance of the season against Gillingham on Tuesday night, and the Valley Parade faithful will be desperate to see The Bantams make it 3 league wins in a row for only the second time this season.

Easier said than done, however, against a side who will be looking to capitalise on misplaced passes, very much a theme of Bradford City under Mark Hughes, particularly at home.

While a 1-0 away win is a perfectly plausible outcome, the disruption to the set up at Colchester United might come at a good time. A new manager bounce is also a potentiality, but if Bradford City can not only dominate possession, but use it wisely in the attacking third as they did at Gillingham, the focus will – and quite rightly so – be on the promotion chasers, rather than the side labouring in the bottom half of the table.

There was a spark about City's play in midweek, with players looking high on confidence as they played quick paces, flicks, and creative tricks to undo their on-form opponents. Same again this Saturday, please, and not another let down in front of the long-suffering home fans...

If there is a single statistic to underpin City's chances this weekend, it's that Colchester United have played away at a top half side 8 times this season – and failed to pick up a single point.

Odds:

10/11: Bradford City
21/10: Draw
7/2: Colchester United

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Bradford City 2 – 0 Colchester United