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

League Two Fixture #7

Saturday 3rd September 15:00
Bradford City vs Walsall
Valley Parade (AKA University of Bradford Stadium)

Most Recent Results:

1: Barrow 3 – 2 Bradford City
2: Bradford City 2 – 0 Newport County
3: Colchester United 1 – 0 Bradford City
4: Hartlepool United 1 – 3 Bradford City
5: Bradford City 0 – 0 Crewe Alexandra

Form: DWLWL

1: Newport County 0 – 1 Walsall
2: Walsall 1 – 1 Stevenage
3: Barrow 2 – 1 Walsall
4: Gillingham 0 – 0 Walsall
5: Walsall 1 – 2 Grimsby Town

Form: LDLDW

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: WDWDW

14 Sep 2019: Walsall 0 – 1 (Kinsella 83 og) Bradford City [League Two]
20 Oct 2020: Bradford City (B. Clarke 76 Pen) 1 – 1 (Nurse 23) Walsall [League Two]
27 Feb 2021: Walsall (Scarr 77) 1 – 2 (Sutton 43, Cook 66) Bradford City [League Two]
04 Sep 2021: Bradford City (Watt 14) 1 – 1 (Earing 42) Walsall [League Two]
25 Jan 2022: Walsall (Miller 57) 1 – 2 (Daly 37, Cook 88 Pen) Bradford City [League Two]

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 18
Drawn: 22
Lost: 14

Biggest Margin of Victory:

11 Jan 1922: Bradford City 4 – 0 Walsall [FA Cup]
25 Feb 1961: Walsall 4 – 0 Bradford City [League Division Three]
23 Apr 2016: Bradford City 4 – 0 Walsall [League One]
15 Dec 2018: Bradford City 4 – 0 Walsall [League One]

Spoiler: Historic Results Analysis

Bradford City have enjoyed their recent history against Walsall, winning 5 of their last 10 encounters, and drawing another 4 of them. Bradford City have also posted wins that equalled the 4-0 widest ever margin of victory twice in the last 6 years.

That said, Valley Parade has seen 3 draws from the last 4 encounters with the Saddlers, all 1-1, whereas most of City's success has come at the Bescot! Will this be a bad omen for a City faithful already feeling the frustrations of multiple goalless draws at home this season?

Throughout history, the spoils have been shared rather evenly, with Bradford City gaining a slight upper hand overall – a balance redressed in the last 10-15 encounters, as Walsall had historically bettered their Yorkshire rivals.

The most common result between Bradford City and Walsall remains a draw: in the 1980's, City and Walsall draw 6 of 7 consecutive encounters!

Walsall 2021/22:

Walsall finished 16th in League Two last season, two places and four points below the Bantams. A wretched goal difference of -13 was equal to that of 22nd placed Barrow, and it was their poor performance in front of goal that cost manager Matthew Taylor his job in February 2022 after 7 consecutive league defeats, including one to Bradford City.

During Walsall's 7-game losing streak, Taylor's Walsall managed just 2 goals – but that was quickly rectified with a 1-0 win against Tranmere, followed by the appointment of former Bradford City attacking midfielder Michael Flynn.

The Welshman won his first game in charge, but ultimately Walsall's season petered out as they lost in 5 of their final 8 fixtures.

Goals continued to a problem, even under Flynn, though another former Bantam, George Miller, ended as the top scorer with 12 goals, while Conor Wilkinson contributed another 10.

Among the most played players were midfielder Jack Earing, goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, and defender Hayden White. Joss Labadie, George Miller, Manny Monthe, and future Bradford City player Emmanuel Osadebe would also all make 30+ starts.



Walsall 2022/23:

Despite losing top scorer George Miller to Doncaster Rovers, Walsall started strongly with a 4-0 home win against Hartlepool United – Danny Johnson netting a hat trick to start the season in fine fettle. Michael Flynn was then able to celebrate a 1-0 win over former club Newport County, despite going down to 10 men with 6 minutes remaining.

A 2-0 win over Swindon Town in the EFL Cup made it three in a row and a dream start for Flynn's Walsall – but the club have failed to win any of their resulting 6 fixtures in both league and cup, a statistic Walsall will look to address at Valley Parade.

Danny Johnson will be the man to watch, as he has netted 7 times in league and cup this season, despite making just 6 starts. His opening day hat-trick was followed by goals against Grimsby Town, Barrow, and Swindon Town (EFL Cup).

Worryingly for the Saddlers, only one other player has scored a league goal for Walsall, and that was Brandon Comley in the opening day rout of Hartlepool United. Timmy Abraham has contributed 1 EFL Cup game, while the rest of the Walsall squad continue to draw blanks.

Despite remaining ahead of Bradford City in the League Two table on goal difference, they remain propped up by the wide margin of their first game fixture. Their deteriorating form since will be of real concern to Michael Flynn, with Tom Knowles in particular guilty of wasting chances. Knowles managed 5 shots against Grimsby in a recent 2-1 defeat, with 3 on target. Similarly, he was the most active forward against Gillinham, but has yet to open his account since his move from Yeovil Town for an undisclosed fee.

Understandably, Knowles will be desperate to score against Bradford City on Saturday.

Veteran Peter Clarke remains a key figure in League Two, despite being 40 years of age. Fellow defenders Manny Monthe and Donervon Daniels have also seen a lot of the ball, but with limited success in terms of passing completion.

Despite relying so heavily on Danny Johnson's goalscoring prowess, Walsall have been competitive in terms of possession and in terms of shots on goal. We might anticipate an open game at Valley Parade.

Bradford City 2022/23:

There appeared to be a mixed reaction to Bradford City's 0-0 draw with Crewe Alexandra last Saturday. There was frustration surrounding drawing a second blank at home, though a strong penalty appeal in the dying minutes could have changed the atmosphere significantly had it been awarded. Scott Banks rattled the woodwork, which has become an almost common occurrence for Mark Hughes' Bradford City side.

Compared to Walsall, though, things appear to be moving in the right direction for Bradford City. While Walsall won their two opening fixtures and haven't been able to register 3 points since, Bradford City have won 4 of their last 7 fixtures in both league and cup, and have caused clubs from higher divisions significant problems.

Most recently, Bradford City defeated Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 in the Football League Trophy, albeit with both sides making several changes from their regular starting line ups. Still, a brace for Jake Young and a goal for substitute Kian Harratt, as well as a stellar performances from Timi Odusina in particular, have given Hughes a selection headache ahead of the game on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Vadaine Oliver and Lee Angol remain goalless, though Angol performed well against Wednesday in a more central role. That could give top scorer Andy Cook even more competition for a starting berth, a welcome embarrassment of riches for a club that haven't found themselves with many options up top in recent seasons.

Oliver, in particular, performed poorly in front of goal, and could find himself struggling for starts unless Hughes elects to back his Summer signing.

Scott Banks, in league action, has been Bradford City's brightest light in recent games, but Hughes will have a concern with City's recent performance in front of goal: City hit the target just twice against Crewe from 12 attempts, while they managed only 3 on target out of 15 attempts against Colchester. City failed to score in either game. Fortunately, the two games sandwiched a good 3-1 win over Hartlepool United – with Andy Cook netting twice after Banks had given City the lead.



Outlook:

Bradford City have the better form and have performed better in the cups; but Walsall's opening two wins still see them ahead of their Yorkshire rivals in the table on goal difference. The two clubs head a pack of 6 teams on 8 points, meaning defeat for either could see them plummet down the table. With a further 4 teams on 7 points, either could end up as low as 18th come Sunday morning.

Looking up the table, both Walsall and Bradford City will be eyeing the play off spots, which they are already 3 points adrift of. Both have exactly half the number of points accrued early by league leaders Leyton Orient (16), while the top 3 are 6 points ahead.

While the league table means little at this stage, neither will want to lose more ground on those above them, and Bradford City in particular will look to build on more impressive recent form and an unbeaten home record. That said, the City faithful would likely not take kindly to another draw at Valley Parade, particularly against a club they regularly draw at home with.

In terms of friendly rivalries, Michael Flynn will want to put one over a side he played 91 times for, but Bradford City fans should not expect to see former Bantam Joe Riley back in action – the ex-Carlisle United defender/midfielder has suffered injury set backs all Summer, and last week Flynn refused to put a timescale on his return.

Odds:

21/20: Bradford City
12/5: Draw
3/1: Walsall

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Bradford City 2 – 1 Walsall