The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Forest Green Rovers Tuesday 12th March 2024 7:45pm

EFL LEAGUE TWO FIXTURE #36

Tuesday 12th March 2024 19:45
Bradford City (12th) vs Forest Green Rovers (23rd)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade

23/24 Results:

28 Nov 2023: Forest Green Rovers 0 – 3 Bradford City

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

Won: 3
Drawn: 2
Lost: 1

Current League Form:

Bradford City: WDWWW
Forest Green Rovers: WLDWL

FOREST GREEN ROVERS

The Stroud Times has described Steve Cotterill’s appointment as ‘shrewd’, describing him as a ‘proper manager’, a knock on his multiple predecessors this campaign. With 3 wins in 6 games following a dry spell of 15 league games without a win, that is perhaps understandable for a club that went through what can only be described as a debacle under Troy Deeney. Deeney’s tenure lasted just less than a calendar month and saw him threaten to punch an official in the head among other unsavoury allegations, having taken over from David Horseman, a rookie coach plucked from Southampton’s ‘B’ team. Irish goalkeeper coach Daniel Connor also took over for a 7 day spell prior to Cotterill’s arrival, making it 4 for the season for the Dale Vince-owned strugglers.

Last season’s bottom placed League One side, hopes were high that a progressive appointment like Horseman would prove a stroke of genius, but things did not transpire in anything like the manner Dale Vince may have envisioned. Now, Cotterill is desperate to rescue the Gloucestershire sides EFL status, and recent wins over Barrow (away) and Tranmere Rovers and Walsall (both home) has lent some hope he can do just that. Though Forest Green Rovers remain second bottom, they have clawed back the majority of a 9-point deficit that once separated them from the final safe spot still occupied by Colchester United. The gap as it stands has been cut down to just 2 points, though Sutton United have also rallied somewhat, and are themselves only 3 points behind Forest Green Rovers.

The battle lines for a relegation scrap are drawn, then, though Colchester United can at least console themselves with the fact they have a game in hand on Forest Green Rovers, and 2 over Sutton United. Grimsby Town, currently sat in 21st position, cannot afford to be complacent either, particularly if Forest Green and/or Sutton United keep accruing points after a long spell where both looked relegation certainties.

Fortunes can change quickly in football, and Forest Green Rovers now head to Valley Parade to face another side whose fortunes have changed quite dramatically since the appointment of Graham Alexander. The question now is, which club’s story (if either) will have a happy ending?

There’s no doubt Forest Green Rovers rode their luck in Saturday’s 2-0 win against League Two’s form side in Walsall. Despite taking the lead through an Emmanuel Osadebe tap in, Walsall had a golden chance to draw level through a penalty award, only for Isaac Hutchinson to see his effort saved by stopper Vicente Reyes. A minute later, Walsall were down to 10 men, when David Okagbue was set off for a second yellow card.

Around 10 minutes after the double blow of a penalty miss and a red card for Walsall, Forest Green killed the game off with a second through Kyle McAllister – but there’s question the script could have been so different!

Forest Green had less possession and far fewer chances than high-flying Walsall, who were chasing a 6th straight win – but this was a day for the plucky underdogs. A recent win over Tranmere Rovers followed a similar script, with Walsall having less possession and a shots-on-goal ratio of 3:13, yet still ran away 1-0 winners – even with Ryan Inniss getting his marching orders on the 88th minute. Spirit, then, is plentiful and Cotterill must be given his dues.

The improved run of form started with an away win against another high-flying side in Barrow, and again Kyle McAllister and Emmanuel Osadebe were the players to grab the goals. That means the former Bradford City midfield Osadebe – who completely a permanent transfer to Forest Green in January – has now netted 3 in 10. Not bad for a player roundly rejected by the Bradford City faithful.

He will have his eye on playing spoiler once again at Valley Parade this Tuesday evening in what is becoming an increasingly familiar script. Even if chances are few and far between, and even if Forest Green spend long periods under the cosh, breakaways and smash and grabs from a talented front line that also involves Christian Doidge and Matty Stevens are becoming more and more frequent. No longer the division’s lowest scorers (that statistic goes to promotion-chasing Gillingham), Forest Green Rovers will believe their fate is in their own hands.

Turning over Bradford City on Tuesday would be another tremendous result and a huge achievement. Steve Cotterill will have his underdogs ready, and Osadebe in particular would relish the chance to put one over his former employers.



Forest Green Rovers 2 – 0 Walsall

BRADFORD CITY

Bradford City’s good league form continued with a 4th win in 6 games, brushing aside a youthful Accrington Stanley side with a ruthless first half 3-goal salvo. Andy Cook proved unplayable for the Stanley backline, making 2 goals for strike partner Tyreik Wright, before bagging one of his own after a sloppy header from a Stanley defender. Cook’s ruthless finish came under little pressure as the Lancashire sides recent woes continued under caretaker manager John Doolan.

Graham Alexander’s Bradford City side move on now to a side at the foot of the table who have been relegation-threatened for most of the season. That said, another managerial change, this time an experienced head in Steve Cotterill, makes it a much trickier tie than it was back in November when Bradford City ran out 3-0 winners at the New Lawn. Matty Platt, Andy Cook and Jamie Walker all bagged a goal apiece, and even the last minute dismissal of Ash Taylor did little to dampen spirits.

That victory also came in the midst of a strong surge up the table from Bradford City, and Forest Green fans might be cursing their luck at running into Bradford City on top form twice in what has otherwise been a largely disappointing campaign from the Bantams. A late surge up the rails is definitely on the cards now, though, if Bradford City can maintain their current course and momentum. The gap between themselves and the play offs has been cut down to 5 points, and City have as many as 2 games in hand over those in 7th and 8th place.

The caveats to such optimism, however, are that there looks to be only 1 play off spot to fight for with Barrow and MK Dons hitting a little bit of form, as well as the fact that Crawley Town are 2 points ahead of Bradford City having played the same number of games. Walsall and Morecambe, likewise, would remain ahead of the Bantams even if City won their 1 game on hand over the 9th and 10th placed sides.

Still, with 33 points to play for, the chances of a successful finale have increased exponentially of late. 2 separate and superb 6-game runs under Graham Alexander have renewed hope among the City faithful and reinvigorated a team that has relied so heavily on the endless enthusiasm of only a handful of players – stand up Brad Halliday and Alex Gilliead, 2 of Bradford City’s most reliable performers regardless of results. Such players have proved immensely valuable, their desire seemingly never wavering through both good times and bad.

Now, with Jamie Walker coming back into the side, along with left wing back Lewis Richards, Graham Alexander looks to be close to picking from a full strength side. On Saturday afternoon, Clark Oduor was on superb form, with Tyreik Wright proving lethal in front of goal. That left Tyler Smith and Calum Kavanagh to come off the bench, both players who have helped themselves to a goal or two in recent weeks.

That will make for grim reading for opponents like Forest Green, desperate for points in their survival bid – with Harry Chapman and Daniel Oyegoke also on the bench on Saturday, Bradford City are on form and have an embarrassment of riches at their manager’s disposal.



Accrington Stanley 0 – 3 Bradford City

 

THE BREAKDOWN

4/6: Bradford City
11/4: Draw
9/2: Forest Green Rovers

Bradford City can’t assume this game is won by any means, but circumstances certainly favour a side that have won 2 of their last 3 home games and 4 of their last 6 in the league. Bradford City’s defence continues to be watertight, with only 1 goal conceded in 7 league games, and they now have an all-but full bevvy of players to choose from. To say the odds are stacked against Forest Green Rovers is an understatement.

But that has been the entire story since Steve Cotterill took over Forest Green Rovers on January 25. It took 4 games for Cotterill to record his first win as Forest Green Rovers manager, but since then has managed 3 in his last 6 league games – including against red hot Walsall, snapping a 5-game win streak for the West Midlanders. Relegation looked all but a certainty for the Gloucestershire side, but now, rather like Graham Alexander’s Bradford City, the unlikely looks entirely possible.

While Bradford City chase down the play off pack, Forest Green similarly chase down those hovering above the dreaded drop zone, and both appear to be doing so with good levels of success. Forest Green Rovers won’t be overawed by the prospect of coming to Valley Parade and trying to play spoiler any more than they were overawed by Walsall, or Barrow, both teams that they sprang upsets upon. At least, though, Bradford City have plenty of warning that Cotterill’s Forest Green aren’t just coming to make up the numbers anymore.

All of that said, Forest Green Rovers must still be seen as a potential banana skin. Their performances have hardly been error-free, and both Grimsby Town and Crawley Town were able to inflict defeats on their own soil without conceding a goal – the games finishing 1-0 and 2-0 respectively. Bradford City will eye something similar, and the form book says they are well-placed to achieve that.

Even if Accrington Stanley proved an easier tie than it had any right to be, with a brow-beaten back line malfunctioning for the entire first half, this is still a game Bradford City should win, and that’s reflected by the oddsmakers. 4/6 isn’t an especially generous offering for the home side, and there are many reasons why that might be the case.

The pick is going to be a 2-0 win for Bradford City, though it’s impossible to rule out a surprise scoreline – and not just based on superstition, but based on Forest Green’s much improved performances and results.

PREDICTION:

Bradford City 2 - 0 Forest Green Rovers

[NOTE: Please do bear with me as these games are coming round thick and fast. Thanks to @bantam65 for his excellent efforts and hopefully we can get a bit more money in the kitty]