The Voice - Match preview #10: Bradford City vs Blackpool Saturday 27th September 2025 3:00pm

EFL League One Fixture #10
Saturday 27th September 2025 15:00
Bradford City (1st) vs Blackpool (22nd)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

Record:
Games Won: 26
Games Drawn: 5
Games Lost: 28

Last 5:
27 Feb 2016: Blackpool 0 – 1 Bradford City
05 Aug 2017: Bradford City 2 – 1 Blackpool
07 Apr 2018: Blackpool 5 – 0 Bradford City
08 Sep 2018: Blackpool 3 – 2 Bradford City
23 Mar 2019: Bradford City 1 – 4 Blackpool

Blackpool:
Blackpool’s poor start to the season has forced veteran manager Steve Bruce to assure fans he still has the backing of Blackpool owner Simon Sadler, which is never something a coach in a truly comfortable position ever has to say. Tangerines’ fans will be disappointed to see their side sat in the relegation zone even at this early stage, especially given the club enjoyed a 9th place finish last season – though, it must be said, without genuinely troubling the playoff spots.

To Bruce’s credit, since his self-ascribed vote of confidence Blackpool have rattled off consecutive wins – they hammered League Two Barrow 5-0 in the EFL Trophy and then followed that up with an all-too-precious 1-0 smash-and-grab win over Barnsley. The latter result is exactly the kind of outcome Steve Bruce hopes will set ‘Pool up for another upset at Valley Parade this weekend, especially given that was only Barnsley’s second league defeat this season. The high-flying Tykes could have been as high as second in the table had the game gone their way, and while it took 8 minutes of injury time for the home side to finally break the deadlock, Bruce will now have his eyes set on similarly frustrating the Bantams.

That will be easier said than done, though, for a side that have conceded the second highest goal tally in the division with 14 goals shipped across 8 league games so far. Scoring hasn’t exactly been a forte, either, with Blackpool averaging just 1 goal a game with a perfect 8-in-8. Striker Niall Enniss (3) has been Blackpool’s main goal threat this season despite having made just 5 league starts, while Jordan Brown, Lee Evans, Ashley Fletcher and George Honeyman all have 1 league goal each. Former City winger Scott Banks, having recently joined on loan from St Pauli, looks an astute signing having already opened his account with a brace in the 5-0 thrashing of Barrow – and he forced a decent save from Barnsley stopper Murphy Cooper, too, as he looks to produce a big and quite immediate impact.

It's perhaps surprising given some of the names available to Steve Bruce to see Blackpool struggling as badly as this. There’s no question they have quality in their ranks, and the fact that players like Fraser Horsfall and ex-City midfielder Lee Evans couldn’t make it off the bench in the 1-0 win over Barnsley really reiterates that. Simply put, they should be doing much, much better, but the statistics speak for themselves.

Sat 22nd in the EFL League Two table, 22nd in the xG table, 24th in the xGA table, and 19th in the possession table, there really aren’t many glimmers of hope other than the emergence of players like Banks and a very good recent win under their belts.

It’s possible Blackpool have already started to turn things round under Bruce; but it’s still much too early to say that. A win at Valley Parade, one of the foremost fortresses in the division, will certainly go a long way to evidencing that – and another smash-and-grab and a clean sheet would certainly dispel much of the doom and gloom, at least temporarily.

Bradford City fans would no doubt be heartbroken if that did happen, as it cannot honestly be expected, but there is an outside chance Bradford City are playing Blackpool at just the wrong time…

Blackpool 1 – 0 Barnsley


Northampton Town 1 – 0 Blackpool


Bradford City:
Bradford City fans will have enjoyed their trip to St James Park to play Premier League Newcastle United in spite of the 4-1 scoreline. Newcastle were, at times, a joy to watch. A team packed with exceptional athletes, world class players capable of unlocking defences again and again with precision passing, and some really great movement on and off the ball, there is simply no shame for the current League One leaders to go down fighting in the North East.

Andy Cook came off the bench and rattled in a screamer against the club he supports, adding to the feel-good factor surrounding his return from serious injury, and players like Bobby Pointon and Max Power both impressed in their own way as well. Sam Walker gained the plaudits of the Sky Sports commentator given the number of quality saves that kept the scoreline respectable, and Pennington, too, came away with some credit despite the City defence generally not being able to keep up with the pace and frequency of Newcastle United’s attacks.

We focus on the league again, now, where City have just scored back-to-back 3-1 wins over both Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City – the latter win all the more impressive given it took place away from home! Oddly, though, there is one remaining question that City haven’t answered so far this season having played a plethora of quote-unquote good sides… and that is how they will fare against struggling sides desperately looking to squeeze points out of ties like this.

Blackpool may be third bottom of the table and coming to a stadium that is very much a happy hunting ground for their hosts, but they have just beaten high-flying Barnsley (albeit on home soil), and employed exactly the sort of tactics they will need to come to Valley Parade with in order to frustrate league leaders Bradford City.

As with trips to sides like Peterborough United and Northampton Town, City have shown they can be reined in when games never really find that spark. Blackpool will have no interest in the entertainment factor this Saturday afternoon, and still have plenty of quality in their ranks despite their struggles this season, factors that could make this a more tricky tie than it initially appears on paper.

Injuries, too, particularly in a depleted back line could take their toll. With Aden Baldwin the latest centre back to potentially fall to injury, it may require Ibou Touray to move back to centre half or alternatively for Tom McIntyre to step up slightly earlier than anticipated. Either way, Graham Alexander has managed the mishaps manfully this season, rotating his squad without ever causing City to lose their edge. While the defence hasn’t been as watertight as Alexander might have liked, perhaps the circumstances surrounding the endless reshuffles at the back are more to blame than City’s tactics or set up.

Nonetheless, City will have to put out a back 3 capable of shackling the likes of Niall Ennis and returning ex-player Scott Banks – should he have recovered sufficiently from a twisted ankle to play.

Cardiff City 1 – 3 Bradford City


Bradford City 3 – 1 Huddersfield Town


Prediction:
With around £350,000 in the bank from the Newcastle United game, January could be an exciting time for Bantams fans if they can keep themselves in the promotion race. There’s a long, long way to go, though, with another 14 games to play before the transfer window reopens. During that time City must keep the points tally ticking over, and it’s hard to imagine City fans aren’t now starting to expect results as opposed to simply relishing them.

Bradford City’s opening run of fixtures looked like a murderer’s row when they were announced in pre-season, with all of Luton Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Stockport County, Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City expected to cause City real problems. The fact is, though, Graham Alexander’s men have won all five of those particular fixtures, with Doncaster Rovers the only side to turn them over so far in the league.

That City weren’t able to put away struggling outfits Peterborough United and Northampton Town may be a testament to the fact that City are only just starting to address last season’s poor away form, but it could be a symptom of an unwanted inability to dominate games when sides aren’t coming to play and attack in expectation of a win. This Saturday, Blackpool could well be the first side to visit Valley Parade this season who feel they are rightful underdogs. A man of Steve Bruce’s experience will be expected to come up with a suitable game plan, then, to frustrate the Bantams on home soil and (perhaps more importantly) demoralise the home crowd. The fact is, though, Bruce hasn’t really achieved that on the road so far this season. Blackpool are rock bottom of the ‘Away’ league table, scoring just once in 4 outings and having conceded a whopping 8 – that’s 2 a game on average with very little reply. A single credible home win over Barnsley may be a tonic to Blackpool’s home form to some extent, but they remain very poor away from home.

In spite of this fixture being a potential banana skin, then, the pick will be a City win. 2-0 will do it, though City might be capable of running riot if they start fast and really get their tails up. Then again, the longer Blackpool can retain parity or even nick a goal themselves, the edgier it may feel inside Valley Parade. However this fixture goes, we will know a couple of things: we’ll know whether City can fend off struggling sides on home soil, and we might just know whether Steve Bruce has long left at the helm for Blackpool…

Final Score:
Bradford City 2 – 0 Blackpool