BRADFORD CITY vs SHREWSBURY TOWN
Tuesday 19th November 1945hrs
Football – England – FA Cup
Pick Bradford Asian Handicap 0
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: 1.88 (odds taken 15:03 GMT, 18 November )
Bradford City and Shrewsbury Town meet again on Tuesday night knowing that the team who gets through this FA Cup first round encounter will have a golden chance to progress through to the third round of the competition.
That’s because the winner will face Mansfield Town and will therefore be strong favourites to reach the round of the tournament where the Premier League sides come in, with lower-league sides valuing the chance to potentially have a big pay day by facing one of the top clubs.
Bradford Prediction – Bantams Fresh and Ready to Go
Bradford City haven’t played a meaningful football match since drawing 1-1 at The New Meadow in the original tie, with Gary Bowyer’s side losing at home to Rochdale in the Football League Trophy although that’s not really regarded as a competition that any club take particularly seriously.
It’s been a solid season so far for the Yorkshire side who will be confident of landing promotion to League One, with Bradford sitting third in the League Two table and they have games in hand on many of the clubs sitting nearby.
The Bantams have won six of their nine matches at Valley Parade, with the most recent of these being a 2-0 victory over Exeter City which saw James Vaughan score his fifth goal of the season and the striker is sure to pose a few problems for a Shrews team who won’t relish this short trip.
Nigerian midfielder Hope Akpan is also getting a good run in the team and has chipped in with a few goals, while Bradford have been defensively strong to the extent that only seven goals have been shipped in nine games.
Bradford will also have the confidence of knowing that they were able to match their League One opponents for large parts of the original tie and there should be a decent gate to cheer them on in a clash where the winner will earn that facile clash against Mansfield in the second round.
Shrewsbury Prediction – Difficult Assignment for League One Team
Shrewsbury sit eleventh in the League One table and will want to get the job done at Valley Parade at the second time of asking, although Sam Ricketts’ side haven’t been hugely convincing on the road this term.
The Shrews have only won two of their eight matches away from home this season and the 1-0 victory at Tranmere owed plenty to the referee’s decision to send off opposition player Connor Jennings on the stroke of half-time, although Rovers still showed plenty of attacking might with ten men.
The Shropshire side have won three of their past five encounters although one of these was a 3-1 victory over Macclesfield in the Football League Trophy and the team had failed to score more than one goal since an exciting 4-3 victory over Southend in the middle of September.
Their aim will be to keep things tight in this clash and hope that they’re able to find an edge to beat their opponents, with Jason Cummings likely to get the nod in attack although the Scot was hooked before the hour mark in the original tie.
Callum Lang is currently on the sidelines which is a big blow to a team who are probably stronger from a defensive point-of-view and they also have the busy captain Oliver Norburn in the middle of the park.
Key-Facts – Bradford vs Shrewsbury
- Bradford have won 6/9 matches at home
- Shrewsbury have won 2/8 matches away from home
- Shrewsbury have not scored more than 1 goal in a league game since mid-September
Betting Tips Verdict
We’re leaning towards Bradford City for this clash, although this could be a tie that stretches long into the night considering what’s at stake. Therefore, our recommendation is backing the Bantams at 0 on the Asian Handicap market which means you get money back if the game ends all square after ninety minutes.
The League Two side have only been beaten once at Valley Parade this term and they’re starting to make their home ground something of a fortress, with Bowyer having previously proved himself with Blackpool at this level.
