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

Bradford City will host Northampton Town in Valley Parade this Good Friday afternoon in League One with the home side looking to secure a playoff place by the end of the campaign.

Meanwhile, the visitors will continue their battle to stave off relegation, with a win in this game feeling imperative.

Match preview

Bradford come into this game currently sitting fourth in League One after their 39 matches, they have won 19, drawn eight and lost 12, giving them a points tally of 65.

The hosts will be looking to end their winless run here, as they have failed to collect three points in their last three fixtures.

Graham Alexander’s side will be aiming to put their disappointing 2-1 defeat to Burton Albion behind them in this fixture, with a win being able to move them to third in the division.

Bradford will be confident of securing a victory, as they have lost just two of their last 15 league games against Northampton, although these defeats both came at home in 2018 and 2022.

Fans will be confident of earning a win, as the club has never lost a league game at Valley Parade played on Good Friday in 11 attempts, which is the most matches a side has ever played on home soil on this day without defeat in the Football League.

Northampton come into the fixture sat 23rd in the division after their 39 games, as they have won nine, drawn eight and lost 22, giving them 35 points.

The club only have seven matches left in the league to avoid relegation, and they are 10 points off safety, so they need to start winning games immediately to maintain their League One status.

After drawing the reverse fixture 0-0 in August last year, Northampton will be looking to keep consecutive clean sheets against Bradford in league action for the first time.

The Cobblers are winless in their last nine league games, losing each of their last four, last suffering defeat across five consecutive league games back in January 2017.

Bradford City League One form:

L W W L D L

Northampton Town League One form:

L D L L L L

Northampton Town form (all competitions):

D L L L L L

Team News

Bradford will be without the services of Antoni Sarcevic for this game, as his manager confirmed they will not be rushing him back as they want him fully fit for the post-season campaign if they secure the playoffs.

This may see Stephen Humphrys come into the side as a replacement or the inclusion of England Under-19 star Ethan Wheatley and a change of formation.

Northampton will be boosted by the fact they will have Nesta Guinness-Walker available from the start after the defender returned to action last time.

The visitors will also be keen to monitor the fitness of Kyle Edwards after suffering an injury in their defeat to Mansfield Town last time out and Tom Eaves who missed that game, along with the chance to select Tyrese Fornah, who was away on international duty with Sierra Leone.

Bradford City possible starting lineup:

Walker; Tilt, Baldwin, Pennington; T. Wright, Power, Metcalfe, Neufville; Pointon, Humphreys; Swan

Northampton Town possible starting lineup:

Burge; McAdams, Guthrie, Guinness-Walker, Dyche; Jacobs, Perkins, Taylor, McGeehan, Evans; Vale

We say: Bradford City 2-0 Northampton Town

Despite Bradford having failed to secure a win in their last three matches, their Good Friday record should be continued this weekend, and they will collect all three points, helping their goal of reaching the playoffs this season. The defeat should signal the end of any hope of Northampton turning their season around with relegation set to be confirmed sooner rather than later.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.