Match Thread Stockport County vs Bradford City Tues 24 January @ 7.45pm

League Two Fixture #26 (Take Two)

Tuesday 24th January 2023 19:45
Stockport County (10th) vs Bradford City (7th)
Edgeley Park

Most Recent Results:

1: Carlisle United 1 – 0 Bradford City
2: Bradford City 1 – 0 Harrogate Town
3: Bradford City 3 – 2 Salford City
4: Bradford City 1 – 2 Rochdale
5: AFC Wimbledon 0 – 0 Bradford City

Form: DLWWL

1: Hartlepool United 0 – 5 Stockport County
2: Stockport County 2 – 0 Crewe Alexandra
3: Walsall 0 – 2 Stockport County
4: Grimsby Town 1 – 0 Stockport County
5: Stockport County 2 – 0 Northampton Town

Form: WLWWW

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: LWDLD

24 Nov 2007: Bradford City 1 – 1 Stockport County
08 Mar 2008: Stockport County 2 – 1 Bradford City
11 Sep 2010: Stockport County 1 – 1 Bradford City
26 Feb 2011: Bradford City 3 – 2 Stockport County
08 Oct 2022: Bradford City 0 – 1 Stockport County

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 36
Drawn: 27
Lost: 50

Biggest Margin of Victory:

18 Sep 1965: Bradford City 1 – 7 Stockport County

Spoiler: Historic Results Analysis

Defeat for The Bantams at Valley Parade in October extended Stockport County's lead in terms of historic results as the Greater Manchester side registered their 50th win over Bradford City.

That victory came in the first encounter between the two sides in 11 years, with Stockport County having dropped out of the EFL for an extended period. Achieving parity in terms of historical results will take some time, with Bradford City suffering a 14 win deficit – so the sooner The Bantams start closing the gap, the better!

(I'm sure no one would complain if they managed to avenge the 7-1 defeat from 1965, either!)

Stockport County 2022/23:
Surprise, surprise! Victory at Valley Parade was the one that kick-started Stockport County's season...

Stockport County's season has been a tale of two halves to date. The first half of the season so far saw Stockport County win just 3 of their opening 15 fixtures across both league and cup. Since beating Bradford City at Valley Parade on Saturday 8th October 2022, Stockport have won 12 of their last 18 fixtures across all competitions. Quite the turnaround!

The nature of Stockport County's win (Stockport's first away league win since returning to the EFL) was one of immense frustration for fans and management alike, as both Mark Hughes and Glyn Hodges found themselves in the referee's notebook. The deciding goal, a penalty converted by leading marksman Paddy Madden, didn't convince Hughes, but his post-match commentary largely focussed on how Stockport County's physicality was too much for The Bantams.

Credit to County, then, who have since launched their charge up the League Two table and look destined for the play offs should they be able to maintain their current (excellent) form. The gaffer, Dave Challinor, once a no-nonsense defender renowned for his long throw ins, was no stranger to physicality in his playing days, and Bradford City will have to cope with that again on a cold Tuesday night in Greater Manchester.

Easier said than done, all things considered...

Goals are not a problem for Stockport County at the moment, with 11 scored in their last 5 league games, and with a variety of goalscorers on the scoresheet. Paddy Madden (9) is their leading scorer in the league, while Kyle Wootton (7) is close behind. Will Collar (4) and Antoni Sarcevic (4) have also been finding the net with regularity, particularly when incorporating Stockport County's adventures in the FA Cup, where they were recently knocked out by fellow League Two outfit Walsall in the third round. Collar has been Stockport's top cup marksman with an additional 3 goals, while Sarcevic has notched up a further 2.

Elsewhere, 4 Stockport County players have scored 2 league goals a piece: defenders Chris Hussey and Fraser Horsfall join midfield pair Myles Hippolyte and Callum Camps with a brace each.

Ollie Crankshaw (1) [now on loan at Motherwell] and Ryan Rydel (1) are the club's other scorers.

Plenty of players for Bradford City to keep an eye on, then, for a club that have a credible (but midtable-worthy) home record of 6 wins, 3 draw and 3 defeats, and who have netted 17 times as opposed to 10 conceded.

Stockport County have added 4 new faces since the January transfer window opened, with centre forwards Isaac Olaofe (23) and Jack Stretton (21) joining from Millwall and Derby County respectively, while defenders Neill Byrne (29, Centre Back) and Kyle Knoyle (26, Right Back) arriev from Tranmere Rovers and Doncaster Rovers respectively.

Bradford City 2022/23:
Bradford City's recently faltering away record remains one of the best in the division

Form is temporary, but class is permanent, or so the old saying goes. If that's true, Bradford City fans could find solace in the fact they are still positioned as the 4th best away side in League Two, with 6 wins, 2 draws, and just 4 defeats.

Unfortunately, recent results do not reflect those successes, as the Bantams are without an away win in 3 league fixtures (4 total including a 1-0 EFL Trophy defeat against Salford City). A recent draw at AFC Wimbledon stemmed the damage dealt by a pair of defeats at Leyton Orient and Carlisle United, but getting back in to winning habits on the road is of paramount importance against surging Stockport County.

Bradford City will be without attacking midfielder Jamie Walker following his dismissal against AFC Wimbledon, but the postponement of the Carlisle United home tie has leant Mark Hughes and his players a few extra days to prepare some of the new signings – including left back Tolaji Bola and new central midfield capture Andy Clayton. Wingers Dara Costelloe and Thierry Nevers are also likely to continue to feature, while veteran forward Matt Derbyshire could also be in contention.

Bantams fans will no doubt have an eye on the level of involvement the new players have, as to date there has been little in the way of a face lift for the first eleven – that could change here, though, and that in itself could be cause for optimism.

It's worth noting that Bradford City will come in to this game as significant underdogs (see odds below).

Highlights:

Bradford City 1 – 2 Rochdale



Stockport County 2 – 0 Northampton Town



Bradford City 0 – 1 Stockport County



Outlook:

As we venture further into the second half of the season, one statistic of curiosity is that Bradford City have perfectly replicated outcomes against all three sides they have played twice.

Two draws against AFC Wimbledon have been complemented by 6 point hauls from both Harrogate Town and Salford City, making the second part of the season identical to the first – to date, at least...

If that trend were to continue, it would mean defeat at Edgeley Park- which wouldn't go against the form book in any way. It's down to Mark Hughes and his players to put an end to that unusual run of results, then, and in doing so seek to put an end to Stockport County's current run of form – just as they inadvertently did at Valley Parade in early October.

Stockport County will be more than up for this game, however, as their seemingly irresistible charge up the table must even have the top three looking over their shoulders. While still some way off at present, Stockport County are third in the form table, while by contrast Bradford City are way down in 15th place.

Another win against City, and Stockport could not only enter the play offs should other results go their way, but they will leapfrog Bradford City and potentially close the gap to third place to just 6 points. Given that County have two games in hand over the top three, that gap could start to look very thin indeed.

But Bradford City still have their own automatic promotion ambitions despite multiple hiccups along the way so far. Hughes has so far reinforced all three lines, from defence, to midfield, to attack, and taken few losses in terms of personnel. A win at Stockport County would be akin to the excellent home win over another then-surging side in Salford City, a team now above Bradford City in the League Two table.

But can they get it done?

Odds:

3/4: Stockport County
13/5: Draw
4/1: Bradford City

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Stockport County 2 - 0 Bradford City