Preview: Bradford City vs Huddersfield Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Bradford City welcome Huddersfield Town to Valley Parade on Saturday afternoon for their latest installation of League One action in the 2026-27 campaign.

In their previous league outing, the Bantams played out a goalless draw with Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium, while the Terriers posted a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic on home soil.

Match preview

After narrowly missing out on promotion to the Championship last season, losing 2-0 on aggregate to Bolton Wanderers in their playoff semi-final tie, Bradford have made an excellent start to their latest league campaign and will be looking to return to the English second tier for the first time in 23 years at the end of May.

Having failed to lose any of their latest eight league matches, a run that spans back to their 2-1 home defeat against Cambridge United on September 1st, the Bantams have slowly risen up the League One table and currently sit fourth with 22 points, just three fewer than Saturday’s opponents at the summit.

While they have faltered in attack so far this season, Michael Duff’s men have been superb defensively, conceding just five goals to boast the joint-best defensive record across the top four tiers of English football since the beginning of the campaign, alongside Premier League champions Arsenal.

It is not only in their league endeavours that they have succeeded either, as following their 2-0 triumph over fellow League One outfit Peterborough United on Tuesday evening, Bradford have progressed to the quarter-final stage of the EFL Cup for the first time since their historic run to the competition’s final in the 2012-13 season.

Although they have struggled against Huddersfield in recent years, winning just one of the previous 10 meetings with the Terriers, Bradford did claim a 3-1 victory when the sides faced off in last season’s corresponding fixture courtesy of a Bobby Pointon brace and Josh Neufville strike.

Following a second consecutive year outside the playoffs at the end of last season, finishing ninth in League One and trailing Stevenage in sixth by eight points, Huddersfield will be delighted with how they have begun their 2026-27 league campaign.

Having picked up 13 points from their previous five League One matches, including an impressive 2-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle at Home Park, Liam Manning’s men have climbed to the summit of the division in recent weeks and currently hold a two-point lead over second-placed Stockport County, with a game in hand.

Unlike their opposition, the Terriers’ strengths this season have undoubtedly come at the other end of the pitch as after 12 league matches, Saturday’s visitors have netted 24 goals, a tally that can only be bettered by four other sides in the EFL and ranks second behind only Reading in the third tier.

With three wins from the previous four meetings between the sides, including a 1-0 triumph when they welcomed Bradford to the Accu Stadium in January, Huddersfield will be confident that they can maintain their lead at the summit of the League One table by delivering yet another statement victory on Saturday afternoon.

Bradford City League One form:

Bradford City form (all competitions):

Huddersfield Town League One form:

Huddersfield Town form (all competitions):

Team News

Picking up a fifth yellow card of the season against Oxford last weekend, Callum Connolly will serve a suspension for Bradford on Saturday afternoon and could be replaced by 20-year-old Kieran Morgan in midfield.

Neufville is also set to miss out in the middle of the park for the hosts as he continues his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury, while Stephen Humphreys is likely to be unavailable with a back problem that he sustained against Burton Albion last week.

Having been absent in Tuesday evening’s EFL Cup clash due to tonsillitis, it remains to be seen whether Nick Powell can feature this weekend, though following a setback in his recovery, fellow midfielder Tyreik Wright is now likely to be out until the end of the year.

In defence, Huddersfield are missing both Murray Wallace and Jack Whatmough as the pair carry knee and calf issues respectively, however they did welcome Radinio Balker back to the matchday squad against Wigan last weekend.

The Terriers are also missing a handful of players in midfield as David Kasumu, Herbie Kane, Ryan Ledson and Marcus McGuane are all currently listed as sidelined, meaning Dutch defender Ilias Bronkhorst is likely to once again play further forward.

Contributing to 21 league goals between them so far this season, Joe Taylor and Derensili Sanches Fernandes have crafted a formidable partnership in the Huddersfield attack and are certain to be the visitors’ biggest threat going forward once again against Bradford.

Bradford City possible starting lineup:

McCracken; Pennington, Baldwin, Pratt; O'Keeffe, Sarcevic, Morgan, Touray; Phillips, Beesley, Pointon

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:

Young; Low, Bowat, Roughan; Bronkhorst, Collins, Humphreys, Mumba; Sanches Fernandes, Fletcher, Taylor

We say: Bradford City 1-1 Huddersfield Town

Unbeaten in each of their previous 12 matches, Bradford will be hoping to use their strong recent form to claim only a second win against Huddersfield in the last 21 years.

However, with the Terriers also looking incredibly strong, claiming victory in five of their latest six fixtures in all competitions, we think the sides will be evenly matched on Saturday afternoon and share the points at Valley Parade.

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