The Voice - Match preview Gillingham vs Bradford City - Postponed

League Two Fixture #20

Saturday 10th December 13:00
Gillingham vs Bradford City
Priestfield Stadium

Most Recent Results:

1: Bradford City 1 – 1 Crawley Town
2: Mansfield Town 1 – 2 Bradford City
3: Sutton United 0 – 2 Bradford City
4: Bradford City 1 – 3 Northampton Town
5: Leyton Orient 3 – 0 Bradford City

Form: LLWWD

1: Doncaster Rovers 1 – 0 Gillingham
2: Gillingham 0 – 2 Northampton Town
3: Newport County 2 – 0 Gillingham
4: Crawley Town 0 – 0 Gillingham
5: Gillingham 0 – 3 Salford City

Form: LDLLL

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: DLWWD

04 Feb 2017: Bradford City 2 – 2 Gillingham
12 Aug 2017: Gillingham 0 – 1 Bradford City
24 Mar 2018: Bradford City 1 – 0 Gillingham
27 Oct 2018: Gillingham 4 – 0 Bradford City
22 Apr 2019: Bradford City 1 – 1 Gillingham

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 14
Drawn: 16
Lost: 23

Biggest Margin of Victory:

14 Sep 2001: Bradford City 5 – 1 Gillingham
23 Feb 2002: Gillingham 0 – 4 Bradford City
27 Oct 2018: Gillingham 4 – 0 Bradford City

Spoiler: Historic Results Analysis

What a season 2001/02 was for Bradford City fans – against Gillingham, at least...!

The club set – and then equalled – the widest margin of victory against their Kent-based opponents, hammering them 5-1 at Valley Parade, then repeating a four-goal swing at the Priestfield Stadium. In the home game, David Wetherall, Andy Tod, Eoin Jess, Robbie Blake and Benito Carbone all helped themselves to a goal each, while it was all change in the opposite fixture, with Ashley Ward, Jamie Lawrence and Danny Cadamarteri all piling on the misery after a Mark Patterson own goal set The Bantams on their way.

Unfortunately, despite a 9-1 aggregate win over the Gills, City finished 15th in the old Division 1 table, 9 points below Gillingham, and only 6 above the drop zone.

Nonetheless, it was a vintage year for this particular tie – unlike the 2018/19 season, when Gillingham turned the tables on Bradford City with a thumping 4-0 win at the Priestfield Stadium. That one will be much fresher in the memories of Bradford City fans in a fixture that, historically, has been slim pickings for The Bantams.

Gillingham 2022/23:
Club statements, sympathy for the fans, and 'the same old c**p' - how long does Harris have left?

This season could not be going much worse for Gillingham.

After being relegated on goal difference last season, having failed to win any of their final 6 League One games, Gillingham – who departed with manager Steve Evans in January 2022 – have failed to arrest a severe decline under head coach Neil Harris. Harris, the former two-time Millwall manager, who bested Bradford City in the 2016/17 League One play off finals, has come under intense pressure from Gillingham fans, and even went so far as to label his Gillingham side's performances as 'the same old crap' following a 2-0 defeat at Newport County just two weeks ago.

Since then, the Board of Directors have issued a 'Club Statement' effectively saying the club is for sale, while defender Max Ehmer came to the defence of under-fire manager Neil Harris, amid growing criticism from Gills fans as they stare a potential second successive relegation in the face.

Relegation out of the EFL would be a dramatic fall-from-grace for Gillingham, who spent 9 successive season in League One, but won just 8 games last term.

Having lost two-time top scorer Vadaine Oliver to Bradford City (where he mainly features as a sub), Gillingham's current run has seen them win just 1 of their last 14 games across all competitions, and that was a 1-0 victory over non-league AFC Fylde in the FA Cup (and a replay at that). They have since been held to a draw by fellow non-league outfit Dagenham and Redbridge, with the two clubs replaying the fixture this coming Thursday (08 December 2022).

Should Neil Harris' side progress to the third round, it will be a welcome distraction for a demoralised, destitute Gillingham club that could benefit immeasurably from the proceeds of a big draw.

Beating anyone at all has been a big ask, however. Even the 1-0 win over AFC Fylde saw Gillingham surrender the majority of possession and manage fewer shots on target than their less-than-illustrious opposition. That has not actually been a common theme, however, as key among the many gripes of Gillingham fans (and manager Harris) has been the Gills' wastefulness in front of goal.

Gillingham's last league win, a 1-0 victory over Sutton United back in October, needed a last minute winner from Alex MacDonald to seal the points. Since then, Gillingham have drawn 1-1 on 6 separate occasions (in all competitions), before their form took an even worse turn. The club have managed just 2 goals in their last 6 games (again, in all competitions).

Defender Elkan Baggott and midfielder Scott Kashket are the club's top league goalscorers this season with 2 a piece, while Alex MacDonald and Mikael Mandron round out the club's scoring with 1 each.

Yes, the club have scored just 6 goals in 20 league game this season. For that alone, it would be no surprise if Neil Harris were removed should they fail to win on Saturday (or indeed, on Thursday...)

Bradford City 2022/23:
Back-to-back heavy defeats leave Bradford City looking well short of the automatic promotion spots.

Comparatively speaking, Bradford City's season has been fantastic, but much of the lustre has been lost with back-to-back heavy defeats in the league. Sandwiched in between a demoralising 3-1 home defeat to Northampton Town and a 3-0 away defeat at leaders Leyton Orient was a 1-0 cup defeat at Salford City – sufficed to say, fans have not been happy with recent performances.

In spite of that, the set backs in terms of cup eliminations and a dawning realisation that the automatic promotion spots may be beyond the team's reach this season, Bradford City remain 6th in the League Two table with a 2 point cushion over 8th place Salford City. A run of games against teams in the bottom half (as well as a tough trip to Carlisle United) could see Bradford City notch a few more points, but Mark Hughes' men will need a return to the kind of form that saw of Mansfield Town and Sutton United back-to-back.

The last 3 outings have seen Bradford City fail to look particularly dangerous, registering just 1 goal – a last minute consolation penalty against Northampton Town, duly converted by Andy Cook. The rest of the team has fallen quiet in front of goal, and criticisms of City's midfield trio (generally Smallwood, Gilliead and Chapman) have grown in volume.

The club's back line have also still yet to register a single goal between them.

All eyes will likely be on Andy Cook once again, particularly after some ineffective performances against the division's high fliers. A goal or two would certainly not go amiss.

Highlights:

Leyton Orient 3 – 0 Bradford City



Bradford City 1 – 3 Northampton Town



Gillingham 0 – 3 Salford City



Crawley Town 0 – 0 Gillingham



Outlook:

Gillingham's abysmal goalscoring record is quite remarkable. 6 goals in 20 league games is almost unfathomable, with forwards Hakeeb Adelakun, Lewis Walker and Mikael Mandron having managed just 1 goal between them. It's no wonder Gillingham fans are in vociferous voice regarding both the Board of Directors and manager Neil Harris, and the January transfer window currently looks unlikely to provide much in the way of a bail out (unless serious investment becomes a reality).

Still, no game is decided until it has played out, and Bradford City aren't on such hot form themselves. True, Hughes will point to the quality of recent opposition, and it's unusual to play 2 of the top 3 sides back-to-back – but Bradford City fans will have hoped their club could compete with those sides in the automatic promotion spots, and to fail to do so has been a serious disappointment.

Despite their woeful attacking performance this season, Gillingham haven't been quite so bad at the back. They have conceded 24 goals in 20 games, slightly more than 1 per game, and only 4 more than Bradford City during that time. City, however, have notched an additional 20 goals, and that's certainly where they will pin their hopes this weekend.

Expect an out-of-form Bradford City to have to slog it out in an edgy game at the Priestfield Stadium, in a game where a month or so ago, 1-1 might have been the most likely outcome. Now, however, a narrow 1-0 or 2-1 victory could provide The Bantams a much-needed shot in the arm this season – despite Gillingham coming in as a greater-than-two to one underdog at home.

Odds:

9/4: Gillingham
11/5: Draw
5/4: Bradford City

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Gillingham 0 – 1 Bradford City