The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Stevenage Saturday 17 September @ 3:00pm

League Two Fixture #10

Saturday 17th September 15:00
Bradford City vs Stevenage
Valley Parade (AKA University of Bradford Stadium)

Most Recent Results:

1: Colchester United 1 – 0 Bradford City
2: Hartlepool United 1 – 3 Bradford City
3: Bradford City 0 – 0 Crewe Alexandra
4: Bradford City 2 – 1 Walsall
5: Tranmere Rovers 1 – 2 Bradford City

Form: WWDWL

1: Stevenage 1 – 0 Rochdale
2: Stevenage 2 – 1 Carlisle United
3: Salford City 1 – 0 Stevenage
4: Crewe Alexandra 1 – 2 Stevenage
5: Stevenage 1 – 0 Newport County

Form: WWLWW

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: WWDWW

11 Feb 2020: Bradford City (McCartan 49, 54, Novak 90+4) 3 – 1 (Carter 26) Stevenage
26 Sep 2020: Bradford City (Novak 61, 81) 2 – 1 (List 37) Stevenage
05 Apr 2021: Stevenage (Norris 15) 1 – 1 (Donaldson 27) Bradford City
17 Aug 2021: Bradford City (Cook 1, 30, 38, Canavan 88) 4 – 1 (List 17) Stevenage
08 Feb 2020: Stevenage 0 – 1 (Walker 55) Bradford City

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 6
Drawn: 2
Lost: 2

Biggest Margin of Victory:

17 Aug 2021: Bradford City 4 – 1 Stevenage

Spoiler: Historic Results Analysis

A very modern fixture, Bradford City have met Stevenage just 10 times throughout history, all since their first ever game in 2010 - a home game which Bradford City won 1-0. Since then, Bradford City have dominated their opponents with an impressive 6-2-2 record.

Stevenage do hold 1 victory at Valley Parade (2014, 2-3), but Bradford City have picked up 16 of the last 18 available points – including beating Stevenage 4-1 on home soil in 2021 with that man Andy Cook scoring a hat-trick.

The major difference this season is that Stevenage are on red hot form under new manager Steve Evans – who has been a persistent problem for Bradford City teams throughout the years, enjoying great success against Phil Parkinson's sides. Can Evans be the difference this time out?

Stevenage 2021/22:

Stevenage had a poor 21/22 campaign, finishing 21st in League Two, 9 points above relegated Oldham Athletic in 23rd place. Alex Revell left the club in November 2021 after just 3 wins in their first 16 fixtures, and Stevenage Academy manager Robbie O'Keefe stepped in as caretaker. Later that month, Paul Tisdale was named as Revell's permanent successor, but he would last only until March, when he too parted ways with the club after 9 games without a win.

Then, Steve Evans took over and Stevenage's fortunes improved almost instantly. 4 wins from their final 7 games ensured survival in the EFL, with the club signing off with a 4-2 win over Gary Bowyer's Salford City.

Striker Luke Norris ended the season with a respectable 14 goal haul, while Elliot List notched another 9. Former Torquay hot shot Jamie Reid bagged 7, the only other player to score more than 3 goals.

Jake Taylor was the player with the most starts (42), with Scott Cuthbert (39), Luther Wildin (38), Terence VanCouten (36), Ben Coker (36), Luke Norris (35) and Elliott List (34) all making key players throughout their league campaign.

Cuthbert and Coker aside, Steve Evans has been able to retain all of last season's key players, and has added more besides.



Stevenage 2022/23:

The 2022/23 campaign could not have started much better for Steve Evans' Stevenage, as they have successfully managed to bring last season's end-of-season form to the table. Stevenage currently sit in 2nd place, with 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from their first 8 league fixtures.

Stevenage have also enjoyed success in the EFL Cup and the Football League Trophy, beating Steve Evans' former side Peterborough United in both competitions – a 1-0 in the EFL Cup has seen Stevenage reach the third round after a thoroughly impressive first round victory at Reading. Stevenage will now face Charlton Athletic.

Key to Stevenage's excellent league form have been the ever-present sextet of goalkeeper Taye Ashby-Hammond, defenders Carl Piergianni, Terence VanCouten and Dan Sweeney, former Bradford City midfielder Jake Reeves, as well as forward Luke Norris. Outside of this successful six, Evans has employed the squad rotation system to great success, with new signings Michael Bostwick and Max Clark vying for the defensive spots, while top scorer Jamie Reid (3) has broken into the side in more recent games to excellent effect.

Stevenage have scored in every game outside of the 1-0 away defeat at Salford City, and Bradford City will certainly be looking at Stevenage's away record as a possible weakness in spite of Evans' side's perfect home record. A draw at Walsall and defeat in Salford have limited their away points haul to 7 from 12. Still, victories at Reading and Peterborough United in the cups prove Stevenage are no push overs.

Bradford City 2022/23:

Securing back-to-back league victories for the first time this season at Tranmere Rovers was a more than welcome statistic ahead of a tough home tie with high-flying Stevenage. Bradford City led twice in their 2-1 victory at Tranmere Rovers, arguably their most impressive away win of the season, and simultaneously ensured back-to-back away wins after the dispatching of Hartlepool United 3-1 in August.

Hot shot Andy Cook once again grabbed the headlines for the Bantams scoring a brace, a pair of headers coming either side of half time. Cook has now netted 9 times this season in all competitions, and enjoys some of the most remarkable statistics of any player in the division.

Cook currently sits as joint second top scorer in the division on 6 league goals, with only Sam Hoskins (8) of Northampton Town ahead of him in the standings – but Cook does stand apart from the rest in terms of goals-per-minute (76), Goal Conversion (67 %), and Shot Accuracy (89 %) - three quite outstanding statistics that put him firmly ahead of everyone else as the most on-form striker in League Two.

The question now might be, how long can Cook sustain these numbers for? With Vadaine Oliver and Kian Harratt currently behind Cook in the pecking order at Bradford City, the pressure is on to make an impact – most likely from the bench. Doing so against an on-form Stevenage side under the leadership of the unpopular Steve Evans could instantly propel either in to the good books of Bradford City fans – but that will be easier said than done against such a resilient and confident team.

Knocks to Romoney Crichlow and Dion Pereira, as well as the lukewarm performance of Jake Young at Tranmere Rovers may encourage Mark Hughes to make changes once again – something he has been keen to do when the games have come thick and fast.



Outlook:

Bradford City fans will be well aware of the somewhat unsavoury history their club have had with Stevenage manager Steve Evans, as well as the successes Evans has enjoyed against the West Yorkshire side.

The form of Evans' new side could feel like an ominous sign for some City fans, but there is also the feeling that Bradford City are starting to string the wins together themselves – even while still not performing to their full potential.

Stevenage are not a possession-based side, having seen most of the ball in only two of their league fixtures so far – including the 1-1 away draw at Walsall. This has not hurt Stevenage's performances, however, with The Boro having had the lion's share of the shots on goal across in most games. One notable exception was the away day at Salford City, when Salford were able to not only dominate possession, but also enjoy the majority of efforts on goal – a rarity for Steve Evans' side.

In truth, Stevenage had more than twice the number of efforts on goal than their opponents at Tranmere Rovers, at home to Stockport County, at Walsall, and at home to Rochdale, as well as very nearly achieving the same feat at home to Carlisle United (20:11), and again at home to Newport County (13:7).

Bradford City fans, then, can expect Stevenage to bombard the Bradford City goal at times, with forwards Luke Norris and Jamie Reid proving particularly problematic in most games. Still, Stevenage have been unable to produce an individual attacking threat of anything like the magnitude of Bradford City's Andy Cook, who has out-scored Stevenage's top scorer Reid to the tune of 2:1 in terms of league goals.

Expect a lot of pressure off the ball, as well as quick, direct attacks. Expect Jake Reeves to attempt to dictate play, and combative defending. In spite of all this, Bradford City's unbeaten record is a reason City have been installed as pre-match favourites. They must, however, do better with the ball under pressure in order to overcome their ebullient opposition.

Under Mark Hughes, Bradford City will look to not only continue their superb form against Stevenage, but also end Steve Evans' hoodoo once and for all in a mouth-watering early season tie.

Odds:

11/8: Bradford City
9/4: Draw
2/1 - Stevenage

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Bradford City 3-2 Stevenage