The Voice - Match preview #21: Bradford City vs Wigan Athletic Friday 26th December 2025 15:00

EFL League One Fixture #21
Friday 26th December 2025 15:00
Bradford City (3rd) vs Wigan Athletic (14th)
University of Bradford Stadium

Record:
Games Won: 11
Games Drawn: 7
Games Lost: 11

Last 5:
30 Oct 2012: Wigan Athletic 0 – 0 Bradford City [League Cup]
24 Oct 2015: Bradford City 1 – 1 Wigan Athletic
19 Mar 2016: Wigan Athletic 1 – 0 Bradford City
18 Nov 2017: Wigan Athletic 1 – 2 Bradford City
14 Mar 2018: Bradford City 0 – 1 Wigan Athletic

Wigan Athletic:
It was two weeks ago that Bradford City and Reading played each other, the two sides tied for joint-most draws in League One this season. That same day, 13th December, Wigan Athletic pulled clear of City, Reading and the others with their 8th tie of the campaign, grabbing a 1-1 stalemate at Huddersfield Town to send themselves clear at the top of that particular table. But it hasn’t always been this way! The current draw kings (elect) have been on a real hot streak of tied games, achieving draws in 7 of their last 10 games across both league and cup – yes, Wigan Athletic’s propensity for even outcomes extends beyond League One.

A 1-1 draw at home to Hemel Hempstead Town in the FA Cup stands out as a particularly surprising one, though Wigan had the lead until a 61st minute red card-penalty combination undid the Latics. Wigan would go on to win on penalties, but 10 days later the roles would be reversed when another 1-1 draw, this time at Stockport County in the EFL Trophy, saw them dumped out of the competition after another shootout. Wigan Athletic’s FA Cup run, meanwhile, continues in earnest despite another drawn game in the second round against Barrow, this time a late equaliser from Will Aimson allowed Wigan a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes, with Wigan once again beating lower level opposition on penalties.

That said, the current plethora of draws comes on the back of a particularly poor run of form throughout September and the first half of October when Wigan Athletic lost 5 of 6 total games again across both league and cup competition. Wigan’s current run saw them pick up 3 wins and 7 draws without defeat until the visit of Blackpool this past weekend. The Lancashire coastal outfit rocked up at Wigan’s Brick Community Stadium and inflicted a rare defeat courtesy of goals from Ashley Fletcher and Dale Taylor, the seasiders rising to 22nd in the table.

Manager Ryan Lowe still felt Wigan were the better side on the day, and that his side were subject to a ‘big of a smash and grab’ despite the 2-0 scoreline. Now, he expects his side ‘to go again’ and recognises the need to compete against ‘teams in the playoffs, and first and second’ and that his Wigan side must ‘give a good account of [them]selves’.

One of the lower scoring sides in League One, Wigan Athletic’s tally of 22 goals scored is a full 7 goals short of Bradford City’s 29, and it speaks volumes that Paul Mullin (4) and Fraser Murray (4) are the club’s joint top league scorers as we approach the halfway mark in the fixture calendar. Christian Saydee (2), Callum Wright (2) and defender Harrison Bettoni (2) – who hasn’t started a game this season – are the only other Wigan players to have scored more than 1 goal. The chances would seem high, then, that a goalscorer would be chief among Ryan Lowe’s targets entering the January transfer window. Mullin, a Wrexham legend that helped fire the former non-league side towards the Championship, hasn’t found his feet at his new loan club, while Saydee and former Bantam Dara Costelloe are averaging a goal every 12 appearances combined.

There are hints, however, that issues may run deeper at Wigan Athletic. This article suggests there was a bit of back-and-forth between Lowe and the home fans during Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Blackpool, and the assessment from the terraces seems to be the performance wasn’t as positive as the manager made out after the game. Perhaps Lowe already has an eye on the potential improvements he could make in January, and given their recent unbeaten run, he might sense that a centre forward is the final piece of the puzzle. Wigan have been harder to beat of late, and while 1-1 has been a particularly common result, that does show that Wigan haven’t been conceding many. Every side needs a foundation to build on – but Wigan fans want more wins, and feel the club should have the quality in the building already…

Wigan Athletic 0 – 2 Blackpool


Huddersfield Town 1 – 1 Wigan Athletic


Bradford City:
Bradford City suffered a 2-1 defeat at Leyton Orient, one that perhaps went against the formbook, but the fact that Orient were the side to break through City’s tight backline should have come as no surprise. Leyton Orient are the division’s third highest goalscorers behind only Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town, so the main question was could Bradford City make it count at the other end of the pitch?

The answer, sadly, was no. Joint-top goalscorer Antoni Sarcevic had an off-day in front of goal, squandering a couple of opportunities to add to Stephen Humphrys 17th minute opener, and a general wastefulness ensured City could need outscore their opponents. Dom Ballard’s double was enough for Orient, though on the positive side, City’s overall performance saw them creating the quality and quantity of chances that would often see them run out the winners.

The Bantams drop to third, now 1 point behind Lincoln City but with a game in hand, though it’s also worth noting that Stevenage who sit 2 points below City equally have a game in hand on Graham Alexander’s men. There or thereabouts at Christmas? Few would have quibbled about this before the start of the season. Still, there are areas for improvement, and it will be interesting to see how Graham Alexander navigates a stacked winter window with plenty of games to navigate and most likely a one-in, one-out policy. Loans might be the key to unlocking further success this season, though City fans will also have to keep on eye on goings on elsewhere as some of the big boys will surely look to flex their muscles in the market.

Chances are, City can scarcely afford to stand still this January.

None of that will affect this coming Boxing Day, however, when a tantalizing tie with Lancashire neighbours Wigan Athletic will usher in a sold out (or very close to!) crowd. Saturday’s defeat was only City’s third of the season, and while disappointing, alarm bells are not yet ringing. City remain one of the best home sides in the division, as they were in League Two last season, having collected 7 wins, 2 draws and just 1 defeat. City have conceded less than a goal a game at the University of Bradford Stadium with 9 conceded across 10 league games, while they’ve scored 17 – a rate of 1.7 per game. That’s not the highest number of goals scored by any means (9 short of Cardiff City’s 26), but City’s home form has long been a case of doing enough to win. Only 2 of City’s wins at Valley Parade this season have been by more than 1 goal, namely the recent 2-0 win over Reading and the 3-1 victory over Huddersfield Town in September.

On the downside, the lack of goals of late (5 goals in 5 league games overall, and 4 goals in the last 4 home league games) mean City are heavily reliant on Sam Walker and the City backline to keep things tight. The influence of captain Max Power cannot be understated in this regard, but arguably with players like Alex Pattison and Tommy Leigh out of contention to play alongside Power, there has been a loss of creativity and/or goal threat in the middle of the park. That, too, may need addressing in the coming weeks.

City, at this point, are perhaps a little too defensively oriented.

Leyton Orient 2 – 1 Bradford City


Bradford City 2 – 0 Reading

 

Prediction:
That Wigan Athletic have won only one away game all season makes for dour reading, but there have been plenty of goals across those 10 league games. With 11 scored and 16 conceded, Wigan have been entertaining visitors for several teams, especially at the start of the season. Having lost 3 of their first 5 away league games this season, including a 4-1 hammering at rivals Bolton Wanderers, Ryan Lowe’s Latics have since tightened things up dramatically. In fact, Wigan Athletic haven’t lost any of their last 5 away league games, picking up 1 win and 4 draws across that period, besting AFC Wimbledon (1-2) and holding all of Huddersfield Town, Exeter City, Mansfield Town and Plymouth Argyle (all 1-1).

Heading to the trip to Valley Parade, then, and things should be looking and feeling positive for Wigan Athletic. Like Wigan, Bradford City have drawn plenty of away games in the league but have managed to cultivate and maintain a much better home record. Indeed Reading looked like a particularly tough fixture last time out at Valley Parade, but City ultimately ran out fairly comfortable 2-0 winners with goals from the attacking midfield duo – and joint top scorers – Antoni Sarcevic and Bobby Pointon. The same will be expected again, then, in another fixture that – similarly – has 1-1 written all over it.

Avoiding the pitfall of a potential draw against the Royals is a real positive for Graham Alexander’s men and lends a great deal of optimism that they will also be able to beat Wigan Athletic. I would expect Wigan to score their customary away goal, but equally I would anticipate City to grab a couple of their own en route to another hard-fought home victory.

While 3-1 is tempting, City just don’t seem to be at their best going forward at the moment, so the pick will be a 2-1 win for the Bantams. Going home happy on Boxing Day hasn’t always been the City way, but the Bantams managed it last year against fellow promotees Port Vale, and I think they’ve got enough to do it again this year against a Wigan side who have gone from bad-to-average in the last few months, but are still some way off being a real promotion threat.

Final Score:
Bradford City 2 – 1 Wigan Athletic