Preview: Bradford City v Wycombe Wanderers

Wycombe Wanderers still have work to do to make safe their Football League status after the weekend's results. The clash with Northampton Town was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Adams Park and with Accrington Stanley and Plymouth Argyle winning; the Chairboys now find themselves just nine points above the drop zone.

They do have a game or two in hand, beginning with a visit to Valley Parade to face League Cup runners-up Bradford City on Tuesday evening. The two sides met at Adams Park just five weeks ago with the Bantams looking a class above as they recorded a deserved 3-0 victory. It remains one of only two league wins for Phil Parkinson's men in 2013 and they currently sit just two points and three places above the Blues in the table. Wycombe are 15th with 49 points and the 50-point mark doesn't seem quite so magical anymore.

Defeat in midweek will certainly bring a sense of nervousness with a daunting trip to the Pirelli Stadium to face in-form Burton Albion at the weekend. By the time Accrington Stanley visit Adams Park for the 'Talk of the Town' clash on Good Friday there could a real air of a relegation battle about it. Of course, whilst some fans will naturally feel concerned others will point to the fine form since Gareth Ainsworth took over on a permanent basis and things will feel very different with a win in Yorkshire on Tuesday.

The Chairboys bounced back from their dismal display at Rochdale with an impressive opening 25 minutes against Rotherham United last Tuesday. They looked sharp and focused and pinned the visitors back into their own half to opening the scoring after seven minutes when Dean Morgan and Matt McClure combined to create a simple tap-in for the otherwise anonymous Joel Grant at the far post.

Sadly the tempo soon dropped and it took just six minutes for the Millers to get back on level terms in the second half. Full-back Liam Ridehalgh was given far too much time and space to cross from the left and Daniel Nardiello had almost a free header up against Sam Wood at the far post. It was a similar story 13 minutes later when the visitors again crossed from the left for an unmarked Nardiello to volley home from six yards. It was a disappointing spell but the side fought back to snatch a point when Wood swung over a teasing corner for Gary Doherty, who leapt like a salmon to head past visiting goalkeeper Andy Warrington.

Wycombe Wanderers make their half-dozenth visit to Valley Parade in midweek and will be looking for a third victory. The other three meetings have all been lost with there yet to be a draw between the two sides in the dozen previous matches, both home and away. The first clash came back in September 1994 as Martin O'Neill's side fell to their first league defeat of their first ever season in the third tier of English football. Defender Jason Cousins late penalty wasn't enough to prevent the hosts claiming a deserved 2-1 victory. Almost exactly a year later the Chairboys handed out a 4-0 thumping at the start of Al*n Sm*th's reign. Midfielder Stewart Castledine scored his first goal in the quarters whilst striker Miguel De Souza claimed a memorable hat-trick.

More than dozen years passed before the Wanderers returned to Valley Parade for a League Two encounter in September 2007. The visitors were under the guidance of Paul Lambert and he had been forced to deal with a goalkeeping crisis just 48 hours ahead of the game when Scott Shearer broke his ankle in training. Jamie Young had injured his hamstring the previous weekend and that saw 19-year-old Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Frank Fielding arrive on loan to take over between the sticks. There were further problems with striker Jermaine Easter left out of the squad at his own request as he looked to engineer a move but it didn't matter as striker Scott McGleish's early header was enough to seal a 1-0 win.

The last two visits have both ended in a 1-0 defeats. The first of those came on Valentine's Day 2009 when Peter Taylor's men were in the midst of a wobble which had seen them knocked off top spot in League Two. The only goal of the game came a minute before the break through Steve Jones. The visitors finished with just ten men when winger Chris Zebroski was shown a straight red card for catching defender Matt Clarke in the face with his boot.

Almost two years later Gary Waddock's side also slipped to a narrow loss to a City side now managed by his predecessor Peter Taylor. This time the solitary goal was scored in the 69th minute when winger Kevin Ellison squeezed the ball past goalkeeper Nikki Bull from close range.

Gareth Ainsworth made just the one change to his starting line-up against Rotherham United last time out winger Bruno Andrade coming for the injured Anthony Stewart. Gary Doherty made a very welcome return after almost five months out with a back injury as a second half substitute for the injured Dave Winfield. Ainsworth also recalled himself to the bench. Defender Leon Johnson was left out for family reasons but is set to return to the squad and the player-boss may be tempted to make changes.

There are a trio of doubts with defender Kortney Hause having missed the last two games after injuring his knee in training last week. Defender Dave Winfield had to be substituted during the second half against the Millers with a pelvic injury and will be assessed ahead of the game. Striker Matt McClure had to come off midway through the first half with a foot injury although he has since come through an x-ray unscathed and should be fit to continue in attack alongside Morgan.

A quartet of players have been ruled-out for the rest of the season. Defender Anthony Stewart will undergo surgery today (Thursday) after fracturing his hand. Midfielder Matt Bloomfield is still struggling with a pelvic shear which is preventing him from training whilst defender Danny Foster is recovering from a second operation on his knee. Full-back Grant Basey continues his rehabilitation following surgery on his anterior cruciate ligaments.

Here's the current list of players availability...

Gary Doherty (Centre Back) - available (scored on his return after recovering from back surgery)

Dave Winfield (Centre Back) - doubtful (substituted with a pelvic injury last week and will be assessed ahead of kick-off)

Kortney Hause (Centre Back) - doubtful (missed the last two games with a knee injury suffered in training)

Matt McClure (Attacker) - doubtful (substituted with a foot injury last week but an x-ray has come back all-clear and set to rteurn)

Anthony Stewart (Centre Back) - ruled-out with a hand injury (will undergo surgery on a fractured hand and won't play again this season)

Matt Bloomfield (Midfielder) - ruled out with a groin injury (won't play again this season)

Danny Foster (Right Back) - ruled out with a knee injury (continues his rehabilitation following a second operation and won't play again this season)

Grant Basey (Left Back) - ruled out with an anterior cruciate knee ligament injury (continues his rehabilitation following surgery and won't play again this season)

The Chairboys starting eleven may look something like this (4-4-2):

Jordan Archer

Michael Harriman - Charles Dunne - Gary Doherty - Sam Wood

Bruno Andrade - Josh Scowen - Stuart Lewis - Joel Grant

Dean Morgan - Matt McClure

Subs: Lee Harrison, Leon Johnson, Marvin McCoy, Gareth Ainsworth, Junior Morais, Dennis Oli, Jo Kuffour


Bradford City were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Exeter City at St James Park last weekend as their hangover from the League Cup final continues. They have now won just two of their last 13 league matches, away at York City and at Adams Park! Parkinson made five changes to his starting line-up against the Grecians as he continues to rotate his squad. Defender Michael Nelson, midfielder Gary Jones, winger Will Atkinson and strikers Alan Connell and James Hanson all recalled to the side. Defender Rory McArdle, midfielder Ricky Ravenhill and wingers Kyel Reid and Zavon Hines all dropped to the bench whilst striker Andy Gray was left out of the squad altogether.

Defender James Meredith was named on the bench for the first time in almost three months after recovering from a bout of glandular fever. Defender Luke Oliver continues his rehabilitation following surgery on a ruptured Achilles and won't play again this season. He is the only absentee as Parkinson has an otherwise fully fit squad to choose from. Defender Rory McArdle, winger Kyel Reid and striker Nahki Wells could all be recalled in midweek. One of the two ex-Chairboys in the Bantams squad is defender Luke Oliver but he has been ruled-out for the rest of the season following surgery on a ruptured Achilles. The other is Matt Duke and he could be replaced between the sticks by Jon McLaughlin after a disappointing performance at the weekend.

Bradford City's starting line-up could look something like this: (4-4-2):

Jon McLaughlin

Stephen Darby - Michael Nelson - Rory McArdle - Carl McHugh

Kyel Reid - Gary Jones - Nathan Doyle - Will Atkinson

James Hanson - Nahki Wells

Subs: Matt Duke, Andrew Davies, James Meredith, Garry Thompson, Ricky Ravenhill, Zavon Hines, Alan Connell


Here are all the stats...


The league table currently shows Wycombe in 15th place with 49 points and Bradford in 12th spot with 51 points, both sides having played 37 games.


Bradford Home Record....W 8 - D 4 - L 5 - Pts 28...Ppg 1.65 (Rank-4)

Wycombe Away Record...W 7 - D 2 - L 9 - Pts 23...Ppg 1.28 (Rank-9)


Bradford's last five results (All Competitions)

Lg2: York City (A).............Won 2-0

Lg2: Port Vale (A)............Drew 0-0

Lg2: Aldershot (H)............Drew 1-1

Lg2: Plymouth (A)............Drew 0-0

Lg2: Exeter (A)..................Lost 1-4


Wycombe's last five results (All Competitions)

Lg2: Southend (H)..............Lost 1-2

Lg2: Torquay (A)................Won 2-1

Lg2: Fleetwood (H).............Won 1-0

Lg2: Rochdale (A)...............Lost 1-4

Lg2: Rotherham (H)...........Drew 2-2


Bradford Goal Stats (52 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total)..........Lg: 49...Cups: 21...Total: 70

Goals Conceded (Total)......Lg: 44...Cups: 25...Total: 69

Goals Scored (Home).........Lg: 25...Cups: 11...Total: 36

Goals Conceded (Home).....Lg: 16...Cups: 8.....Total: 24

Clean Sheets.....................Lg: 13...Cups: 4.....Total: 17

Failed to score...................Lg: 11...Cups: 3.....Total: 14


Wycombe Goal Stats (41 games in all Competitions)

Goals Scored (Total)..........Lg: 45...Cups: 4...Total: 49

Goals Conceded (Total)......Lg: 53...Cups: 8...Total: 61

Goals Scored (Away).........Lg: 21...Cups: 4...Total: 25

Goals Conceded (Away).....Lg: 32...Cups: 8...Total: 40

Clean Sheets.....................Lg: 11...Cups: 0...Total: 11

Failed to score...................Lg: 10...Cups: 2...Total: 12


Bradford's Top Goal Scorers - (All Competitions)

Nahki Wells............18

James Hanson........10

Alan Connell............9

Kyel Reid................5

Gary Thompson.......5

Andrew Davies........3

Will Atkinson............3

Carl McHugh............3

Three other players have each scored 2 goals.

Six other players have each scored 1 goal


Wycombe's Goal Scorers - (All Competitions)

Matt McClure...........10

Joel Grant................9

Dean Morgan............8

Sam Wood...............3

Gareth Ainsworth......2

Bruno Andrade.........2

Gary Doherty...........2

Jo Kuffour................2

Dave Winfield...........2

OG..........................2

Stuart Beavon..........1

Matt Bloomfield.........1

Kortney Hause.........1

Stuart Lewis.............1

Josh Scowen............1

Matt Spring..............1

Anthony Stewart......1


Bradford Shooting (Top-3) - All Comps

James Hanson.....44 on-target...61 off-target...3 against woodwork

Nahki Wells.........55 on-target...36 off-target...5 against woodwork

Gary Jones..........33 on-target...25 off-target...4 against woodwork


Wycombe Shooting (Top-3) - All Comps

Dean Morgan......28 on-target...29 off-target...6 against woodwork

Joel Grant...........22 on-target...25 off-target...0 against woodwork

Matt McClure.......19 on-target...21 off-target...1 against woodwork


Shooting (Club) - League only

Bradford....207 on target...232 off target...13 against w'work (Rank-4)

Wycombe...151 on target...168 off target.....9 against w'work (Rank-21)


Most Assists

Bradford - Gary Jones............10

Wycombe - Josh Scowen..........6


Discipline - All Comps

Bradford.......3 Red Cards - 47 Yellow Cards

Wycombe......5 Red Cards - 63 Yellow Cards


League Form Guide

All Season

Bradford.....Pld: 37...W: 13...D: 12...L: 12...Pts: 51...Pts per game: 1.38

Wycombe...Pld: 37...W: 14...D: 7.....L: 16...Pts: 49...Pts per game: 1.32


First-half of the season

Bradford.....Pld: 23...W: 11...D: 6...L: 6....Pts: 39...Ppg: 1.70 (Rank-3)

Wycombe....Pld: 23...W: 7.....D: 5...L: 11..Pts: 26...Ppg: 1.13 (Rank-19)


Second-half of the season

Bradford.....Pld: 14...W: 2...D: 6...L: 6...Pts: 12...Ppg: 0,86 (Rank-22)

Wycombe....Pld: 14...W: 7...D: 2...L: 5...Pts: 23...Ppg: 1.64 (Rank-6)


Last Five league Games

Bradford........WDDDL - 6 points (Rank-15)

Wycombe.......LWWLD - 7 points (Rank-11)


Last Five League Games (Home)

Bradford..........LLLDD - 2 points (Rank-21)


Last Five League Games (Away)

Wycombe.......DWLWL - 7 points (Rank-11)


Against Top Half Opposition

Bradford........Pld: 16...Pts: 16...Pts per game: 1.00...(Rank-17)

Wycombe.......Pld: 19...Pts: 20...Pts per game: 1.05...(Rank-16)


Against Bottom Half Opposition

Bradford........Pld: 21...Pts: 35...Pts per game: 1.67...(Rank-11)

Wycombe.......Pld: 18...Pts: 29...Pts per game: 1.61...(Rank-13)


First 45 mins v Second 45 mins - Performance Comparison

First-Half

Bradford.......W: 7.....D: 19...L: 11...Ppg: 1.08 (Rank-22)

Wycombe......W: 13...D: 12...L: 12...Ppg: 1.38 (Rank-9)


Second-Half

Bradford.......W: 13...D: 15...L: 9.....Ppg: 1.46 (Rank-9)

Wycombe......W: 10...D: 12...L: 15...Ppg: 1.14 (Rank-20)


League Goals scored in First-Half

Bradford........18 (37%) (Rank-18)

Wycombe.......24 (53%) (Rank-7)


League Goals scored in Second-Half

Bradford........31 (63%) (Rank-9)

Wycombe.......21 (47%) (Rank-20)


League Goals conceded in First-Half

Bradford........23 (52%) (Rank-14)

Wycombe.......22 (42%) (Rank-10)


League Goals conceded in Second-Half

Bradford........21 (48%) (Rank-3)

Wycombe.......31 (58%) (Rank-14)


Record when scoring the first goal

Bradford scored first..15 times (W:12 - D:1 - L:2)...Ppg: 2.47 (Rank-8)

Wycombe scored frst..20 times (W:11 - D:5 - L:4)...Ppg: 1.90 (Rank-21)


Record when conceding the first goal

Bradf'd conceded first..17 times (W:1 - D:6 - L:10) Ppg: 0.53 (Rank-11)

Wyc'be conceded first..15 times (W:3 - D:0 - L:12) Ppg: 0.60 (Rank-8)


Previous Meetings

In 12 previous meetings there have been 7 wins for Wycombe, 5 for Bradford and 0 draws.

At Valley Parade the tally is 3 wins for the Bantams and 2 for the Blues.

1994/95 LG1: Bradford 2 Wycombe 1

1995/96 LG1: Bradford 0 Wycombe 4

2007/08 LG2: Bradford 0 Wycombe 1

2008/09 LG2: Bradford 1 Wycombe 0

2010/11 LG2: Bradford 1 Wycombe 0


The Man In The Middle

Tuesday's referee is Eddie Ilderton from Tyne & Wear who was promoted to the National List of Referees in 2002. The last time Wycombe encountered him was March 2010 when he awarded Oldham a stoppage time penalty in a 2-2 draw at Boundary Park. During the current campaign he's issued 4 red and 85 yellow cards in 27 appearances.


Predictions

Benny: Bradford 1 Wycombe 1

Len: Bradford 2 Wycombe 0

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.