Football – England – League One
Friday 26th December 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
After an impressive early start to their first ever League One campaign which saw Fleetwood Town win their first three matches of the season, the Cod Army have posted just a further four wins from their subsequent 18 league matches.
Fleetwood now occupy a mid-table position which is a far more realistic position for them as they now look to consolidate their League One status for another term, particularly as they’ve now gone four matches without a win going into today’s clash with Bradford City.
Back-to-back defeats to Walsall and Swindon Town have been followed by back-to-back draws with Sheffield United and Coventry City and they now need to halt a Bradford City outfit who are looking for a third away win on the trot.
Fleetwood’s home record stands at a pretty reasonable 4-5-1 12/8 with only Walsall (6 goals) keeping a tighter defence at home in the division. However, Fleetwood have failed to win in their last two at Highbury Stadium as they lost to Walsall and drew with Sheffield United.
Visitors Bradford City are unbeaten in their last five matches overall which includes three wins (Preston away 2-1, a 3-1 home win over Leyton Orient and a 1-0 win at Chesterfield), along with draws against Gillingham and Scunthorpe United.
Bradford’s away record stands at 5-3-2 14/10 and they’ve won their last two on the bounce on their travels with impressive wins at fourth placed Preston North End and mid-table Chesterfield. They also carry a potent goalscoring threat with the likes of James Hanson, Billy Clarke and journeyman striker Jonathan Stead up front.
Despite a sturdy defence, Fleetwood have found goals hard to come by at the other end and with Bradford’s attacking trio of Hanson, Clarke and Stead, I fancy the visitors to get at least a point here today. Back Bradford with the favourably priced quarter ball in what could be a 2-1 win for The Bantams.
Pick: Bradford City AH+0.25 @ 1.77 Ladbrokes
