The Voice - Match preview Walsall vs Bradford City Tuesday 7th March @ 7:45pm

League Two Fixture #34

Tuesday 7th March 2023 19:45
Walsall (14th) vs Bradford City (5th)
The Poundland Stadium (AKA Bescot Stadium)

Most Recent Results:

1: Bradford City 2 – 0 Tranmere Rovers
2: Bradford City 0 – 1 Barrow
3: Doncaster Rovers 0 – 1 Bradford City
4: Gillingham 0 – 2 Bradford City
5: Bradford City 2 – 0 Colchester United

Form: WWWLW

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

Form: LDDDD

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form:

20 Oct 2020: Bradford City 1 – 1 Walsall
27 Feb 2021: Walsall 1 – 2 Bradford City
04 Sep 2021: Bradford City 1 – 1 Walsall
25 Jan 2022: Walsall 1 – 2 Bradford City
03 Sep 2022: Bradford City 2 – 1 Walsall

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 19
Drawn: 22
Lost: 14

Biggest Margin of Victory:

11 Jan 1922: Bradford City 4 – 0 Walsall
25 Feb 1961: Walsall 4 – 0 Bradford City
23 Apr 2016: Bradford City 4 – 0 Walsall
15 Dec 2018: Bradford City 4 – 0 Walsall

NEW FEATURE!

For Better or Worse:
First Half of the Season vs Second Half of the Season Analysis

Tranmere Rovers: WIN followed by WIN – Equal
Barrow: DEFEAT followed by DEFEAT
Doncaster Rovers: DRAW followed by WIN
Colchester United: DEFEAT followed by WIN
Walsall: WIN followed by ???

Results so far: The second half of the season has seen an improvement by 4 points



Walsall 2022/23:
A statistical marvel, Walsall are nothing if not consistent – but will feel it's high time they turned the tide

Walsall's season can be broken down into three, incredibly neat sections. After a promising start, Walsall embarked on a run of 8 defeats and 4 draws in league and cup. Then, Walsall perked up dramatically with an impressive run of 11 wins, 3 draws, and just 3 defeats that included an excellent FA Cup run. Most recently, however, Walsall have drawn 7 and lost 3, again in both league and cup, having been dumped out of the FA Cup by Premier League side Leicester City.

It's rare to find a side consistently posting the same results for such lengthy periods with very little variance. Walsall went from losing the majority of games, to winning the majority of games, to drawing the majority of games, in three fairly equal segments of the season so far.

The question, then, is are Walsall out of their habit of drawing, and ready to embark on a similarly lengthy run of wins or defeats?

Defeat at home to Barrow snapped a six-game run of stalemates that saw Walsall either play out a 0-0 draw or take a lead they eventually squandered. Putting a game to bed, then, has not been a forte of this Michael Flynn-led Walsall side.

Going behind, though, has also been something of a rarity. 1-0 defeats against Barrow and Salford City are the only games in which Walsall have gone behind since December 29 – quite remarkable considering Walsall haven't won a league since New Year's Day.

The most punishing example of Walsall's inability to maintain a lead came two games ago, when Walsall led lowly Hartlepool United 2-0, and then 3-1 after conceding a clumsy penalty converted by Dan Kemp. 3 neat finishes for Walsall from Tom Knowles, Isaac Hutchinson and Matt Stevens merited more than it eventually earned: a second clumsy error in defence led to a second penalty, again converted by Kemp, in the 90th minute. But it got worse: Walsall switched off as a free kick was swung in the dying seconds of the game, and Hartlepool capitalised with an equaliser. 3-3, then, and heartbreak for the Saddlers.

What should have been only their second win of 2023 became a dramatic draw that proved little consolation to anyone involved at The Poundland Stadium.

It's not that Walsall aren't playing well, or scoring neat goals – and Bradford City fans should not assume they will walk over Walsall on Tuesday night. The current issues for Michael Flynn and his players are a) fighting back if they go behind and b) keeping their noses in front if they score first.

In truth, Walsall have badly missed the goals of Danny Johnson, a 15-goal striker who returned to Mansfield Town from his loan spell, only to struggle to get game time since. A sickener for Walsall; but somebody simply must step up and fill in the void in terms of goalscoring.

Isaac Hutchinson has scored just 4 goals in 30 league appearances this season, a record matched exactly by fellow forward Tom Knowles. No other Walsall player has netted more than 2.

A lesson, perhaps, in the dangers of relying too heavily on the loan market.

But it's not all bleak for Walsall. With only 2 sides having even taken the lead against them in the last 8 league games, it's clear they're a very difficult team to beat. Both Leyton Orient and Northampton Town have failed to beat Walsall during this draw-heavy period, and prior to that Walsall earned wins over all of Stockport County, Swindon Town, Doncaster Rovers, and Carlisle United.

The main issue for Flynn, now, is finding goalscorers amongst his remaining squad. Isaac Hutchinson is their most on-form forward, with 2 goals in his last 4 games, but overall he has endured a fairly miserable campaign in front of goal.

Bradford City 2022/23:
Mark Hughes found himself 'jumping up and down like an idiot' after Saturday's spectacular finale against Colchester United

Was that good, or what?

Just as it appeared Bradford City were heading towards a disappointing stalemate in front of a record fourth-tier home attendance, Andy Cook (who else?) popped up with a powerful header from a Harry Chapman in-swinger to send Valley Parade into raptures in the dying moments of the game. That Cook would then lay on a second stoppage time goal for Scott Banks was the icing on the cake.

The game might not be remembered as a slog – but prior to the injury time double hammer blow to Colchester United's defence, Bradford City had managed just 1 shot on target, and had seen goalkeeper Harry Lewis forced into a couple of crucial saves. How different it could have been...

Had The Bantams walked away with just a point and evidencing only 1 shot on target from their last 2 home games, the script right now would be very different indeed. But, football is a game of fine margins, and there was little fortunate about either strike as City rolled back the years and claimed a potentially massive home win.

Away from home, City have looked lethal all season long.

Now on a run of three straight away wins, a streak that accounts for Stevenage, Doncaster Rovers and Gillingham, Bradford City have been raiding grounds up and down the country with almost routine reliability. Now, with 5 wins in their last 6 games in total, and with just 1 goal conceded in their last 5 outings, Bradford City are riding the crest of a wave inspired by Mark Hughes and his January transfer activity.

While the names on the score sheet are players that have been here the whole time (Cook, Banks, Walker, and Smallwood in recent weeks), the addition of Adam Clayton in midfield, Sam Stubbs at the back, and Dara Costelloe up front have made a huge difference – and augmented this Bradford City side in a way that now has them looking like very genuine automatic promotion candidates.

Winning at current draw-specialists Walsall would be huge.

Highlights:

Bradford City 2 – 0 Colchester United



Bradford City 2 – 1 Walsall



Walsall 0 – 1 Barrow



Outlook:

Walsall's patches of incredible consistency this season currently have them drawing week in, week out so far in 2023, barring the odd 1-0 defeat. Only 1 other team have registered more draws as Walsall this season, in total, namely Crewe Alexandra. 13 stalemates from 32 games for The Saddlers represents a greater than 40 % draw rate.

Bradford City, meanwhile, are closing in on a 50 % win rate, which they will achieve with a victory at The Poundland Stadium on Tuesday night. That will go nicely with the fact The Bantams are, already, the best points-per-game away side in the division, a mantle they would no doubt love to retain on a cold night in the Midlands.

Bradford City's mean defence, the second best in the division, is matched by Walsall. A surprising statistic, perhaps, for a side languishing in 14th, and some way off achieving a top half finish this season – but it's true. Bradford City and Walsall have both conceded just 29 league goals this season, well under 1 per game.

That could point to a 0-0 draw, or perhaps more likely, a score draw with Walsall opening the scoring – but given the positivity and the atmosphere surrounding Bradford City at the minute, it's hard to back against The Bantams. City are now realising their potential, it seems, at least in terms of results; and the old adage “if we can win the next few games” appears to be becoming a reality.

Up to 5th in the table, it's all to play for now for Bradford City. Win at Walsall, and stuttering third place Stevenage will be within grasp. Win by 4 or more, and third place will finally be City's regardless of results elsewhere.

But we've been here before... haven't we?

Let's hope Cook can add yet another former team to his ever-growing hit list in an impressive season.

Odds:

17/10: Walsall
2/1: Draw
9/5: Bradford City

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Walsall 0 – 1 Bradford City