The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Crawley Town Saturday 6th January 2024 3:00pm

EFL LEAGUE TWO FIXTURE #26

Saturday 6th January 15:00
Bradford City (13th) vs Crawley Town (12th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

22/23 & 23/24 Results:

29 Oct 2022: Bradford City 1 – 1 Crawley Town
07 Apr 2023: Crawley Town 0 – 0 Bradford City
05 Aug 2023: Crawley Town 1 – 0 Bradford City

Head-to-Head Form: LDDLL (most recent result first)

Won: 4
Drawn: 3
Lost: 8

Current League Form:

Bradford City: LDDWW
Crawley Town: WLWLL

CRAWLEY TOWN

A cursory glance at Crawley Town’s results show they have had not drawn a game since October. That’s a remarkable run, but outside of an absence of stalemates, there’s not a lot of consistency going on. Crawley’s have alternated wins and losses, or at best, pairs of wins and losses, though generally the Red Devils have lost to the better teams in the division – with the obvious exception of Forest Green Rovers, the EFL’s bottom-placed side, who recorded a 2-1 win over Crawley back on October 28.

Since then, Notts County (5th), Mansfield Town (2nd), AFC Wimbledon (7th) and MK Dons (8th) are the only sides to have beaten Scott Lindsey’s men. Conversely, Crawley have beaten Accrington Stanley (9th), Harrogate Town (14th), Colchester United (22nd), Gillingham (10th), and Swindon Town (16th). In simple terms, since Crawley’s most recent draw, they’ve lost to everyone currently placed 8th or higher, and beaten everything 9th or lower.

Bradford City, of course, feature in the latter category, now sat in 13th place.

Does that mean Crawley Town should be favourites here? Well, Bradford City fans might remember the opening game of the season away at Crawley, with Crawley considered by many as relegation candidates, and City fancied with almost equal conviction as promotion contenders. Fast forward 25 games, and Crawley Town sit one place above Bradford City in the League Two table, hold a win from their previous encounter (a 1-0 victory that also saw Daniel Oyegoke sent off for the Bantams), with Crawley advancing their superiority over Bradford City in all-time head-to-head competition.

The omens are looking very positive, then, for the West Sussex side ahead of their trip to Valley Parade this weekend.

Crawley Town’s 3-1 win over Swindon Town on New Year’s Day followed a 2-0 away win at Gillingham on Boxing Day, with a 2-0 defeat at MK Dons sandwiched in between. Attacking midfielder Jack Roles scored in both of Crawley’s most recent wins, and Danilo Orsi grabbed a brace against Swindon Town while Will Wright contributed the second against Gillingham.

Danilo Orsi, a free transfer from Grimsby Town in the Summer, has defied all expectations so far this season with 13 goals in all competitions. He leads Adam Campbell (5), Ronan Darcy (4), Will Wright (4), Nick Tsaroulla (3) and Klaidi Lolos (3) as scorers of with more than 2 league goals. In truth, Scott Lindsey and company have made the most of their signings this season, with a number of players (Liam Kelly, Harry Forster, Klaidi Lolos, Ade Adeyemo, Jay Williams, and Adam Campbell) all coming in from non-league sides and acquitting themselves well in their new surroundings.

What might have been seen as a series of gambles (the old adage dictates ‘buy non-league, become non-league’) has paid off. Crawley Town currently sit in 12th place, 2 points ahead of big-squad, big-budget Bradford City, and having scored 8 more goals. On the other hand, Crawley have also conceded 11 more than Bradford City, including 6 at Swindon Town earlier this season (where a certain Jake Young scored 4), and have struggled to make much of an impact against high-achieving opposition.

Purveyors of a 3-4-3, Crawley Town will seek to control the play, and launch attacks from wide and shoot from range, and profit from any errors in the Bradford City back line courtesy of a nimble attack. They will welcome back centre back Liam Laurence, who was suspended for the 3-1 win over Swindon Town, and he will most likely join Dion Conroy and Harry Ransom in a back line that can be prone to errors.



Crawley Town 3 – 1 Swindon Town

BRADFORD CITY

In terms of provenance, Bradford City can boast players that are head-and-shoulders above their Crawley Town counterparts when it comes to EFL experience. While Crawley Town have dredged the waters of non-league effectively, Bradford City have drawn most of their players from either other League Two sides, or from higher echelons altogether.

Aside from assembling a more expensive team of players, though, there really hasn’t been much difference in the two teams’ overall performances. Andy Cook, Bradford City’s most potent forward, trails Danilo Orsi in the scoring stakes, and might suddenly find himself as the second highest goalscorer at Bradford City for the first time in his Bradford City career. Jake Young returns after a blockbuster campaign for Swindon Town in the first half of the season, where he netted a full 16 goals, all of them in the league.

While Jake Young has an imperfect history with Bradford City, and in particular former manager Mark Hughes, any League Two side would be elated to welcome a 22 year old striker with the second highest goal tally in the division during a January transfer window. In terms of a ‘new signing’-like feeling, Young is a mouth-watering prospect. One imagines the only way the mood will be dampened is if he is sold in the coming days or weeks, but with Young only allowed to play for two clubs this season, Saturday will tell us a lot about his immediate future. Either he plays for Bradford City, or he is sold – with the ‘two clubs per season’ rule, it cannot be both.

So, will it be Jake Young and Andy Cook up front for The Bantams? Time will tell, and regardless of Graham Alexander’s preferences, there’s still the possibility an offer comes in that overrules his opinion. If it’s not to be, then expect Cook and Tyler Smith to continue their partnership, which while initially fruitful has now failed to produce a goal in 3 games. Form can turn very quickly in this division, as Bradford City fans found when their side embarked on a six-game winning streak – and how they’ve seen again, with the Bantams having recorded no wins in 3, and drawn 2 consecutive blanks in front of goal.

How Graham Alexander addresses the mini slump is going to be interesting. Theoretically, Bradford City now face a string of winnable ties immediately after the Crawley game, but that doesn’t make the Crawley Town tie a free hit, so to speak. With Crawley Town very much a midtable rival and one of the clubs between themselves and the play off spots, this is game could give us a glimpse of which of the teams – if either – can make a run for promotion in the second half of the season.

If Bradford City lose, it casts serious doubt on their own play off ambitions – but if they can beat (and therefore overtake) their West Sussex rivals, then it will look like ‘game on’ at Valley Parade.



Crewe Alexandra 1 – 0 Bradford City

 

THE BREAKDOWN

8/11: Bradford City
3/1: Draw
16/5: Crawley Town

Bradford City being significant favourites for this tie seems just a little bit optimistic.

Crawley Town have been something of a bogey team for Bradford City ever since they entered the EFL, and recent results continue to reflect the problems the Red Devils generally cause the Bantams. Earlier this season, Crawley caused a significant upset when they beat Mark Hughes’ men in the opening game of the season. Even now, Crawley are ahead of Bradford City in the League Two table.

Danilo Orsi is, outside of Jake Young, the most potent goalscorer either side can boast. Crawley’s recent form (see ‘Crawley Town’ section) has seen them beat every team placed 9th or below in the league table since October – which would extend to Bradford City. Crawley Town have also won 2 of their last 3 away games, a marked improvement on their away form overall this campaign.

That said, Bradford City haven’t had an easy run of games lately, and haven’t been beaten at home under Graham Alexander since a 2-1 defeat at the hands of high-flyers Barrow in November. Morecambe saw a 2-0 lead cut down by a determined City side who ran out with a creditable point, and league leaders Stockport County were also denied a win courtesy of a 0-0 draw.

Their recent downturn in results hasn’t necessarily been reflected in performances, either. While The Bantams were beaten 1-0 away at Crewe Alexandra on New Year’s Day, City dominated in terms of chances, had a goal disallowed for offside, and another tipped on to the bar (both Cook efforts). While there are a couple of areas of concern for Bradford City, most notably in place of the injured Jamie Walker and at left wing back where Lewis Richards has also been absent, Richards might be close to a return, and again, there is the return of Jake Young to potentially celebrate.

While Crawley Town have the attacking players to cause Bradford City problems, in particular Jack Roles and Danilo Orsi, they also have pronounced defensive frailties. Also, while Jake Young failed to get on the scoresheet against Crawley Town in his final game for Swindon Town, he did score 4 against them earlier this season, in the most potent example of said frailties.

Ultimately, the sense of positivity that Bradford City bring into this tie might be beyond Graham Alexander’s sphere of influence. If Jake Young is sold, and neither Richards nor Walker can be called upon due to injuries, things won’t look remotely as rosy as they could. But right now, expectations are that Young will play alongside Cook, even if neither injured party is set to return. That alone suggests Bradford City should have the firepower to trouble Crawley – but they’ll have to be at their most efficient best in a game that looks too close to call.

Optimistically, the pick is a 2-1 win for Bradford City.

PREDICTION:

Bradford City 2 – 1 Crawley Town