Preview: Bradford City vs Wycombe Wanderers - prediction, team news, lineups

Newly-promoted Bradford City will kick off the League One season with a home clash against Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.

The Chairboys will be looking to mount another top-six push after falling short in the playoff semi-finals last term.

Match preview

Bradford are set to compete in League One for the first time in six years after securing promotion in the most dramatic of fashion.

The Bantams scored a 96th-minute winner in their final game of the season against Fleetwood Town to snatch third spot ahead of Walsall.

After leading the club to promotion, Bradford boss Graham Alexander has been busy adding nine new players to his squad ahead of the League One campaign, including Curtis Tilt, Matthew Pennington, Max Power, Will Swan and Stephen Humphrys.

Bradford have recorded four wins and two draws in their pre-season schedule, including a 2-0 win over Championship side Middlesbrough on July 23.

They followed that result with a narrow 1-0 win over Oldham Athletic in their final pre-season outing, meaning that they should head into the opening weekend of the season in a positive mood.

Having failed to win their last four games against Wycombe, the Bantams will head into Saturday's fixtures with hopes of recording their first head-to-head victory since March 2013.

Meanwhile, Wycombe boss Mike Dodds will be under pressure to make a positive start to the campaign after he failed to build on the strong foundation left by Matt Bloomfield last season.

Wycombe were in second place in the League One table when Dodds was appointed in February, following Bloomfield's decision to move to Luton Town.

However, they slipped down to fifth place after winning seven, drawing four and losing six of their final 17 games, before they fell to a narrow 1-0 aggregate defeat in their semi-final clash with Charlton Athletic.

Wycombe have seen a significant turnover of players this summer, making 10 new additions following a raft of departures.

The Chairboys have experienced mixed results in pre-season, losing to Sutton United and beating Cheltenham Town, before going on to play out back-to-back draws with Barnet and Tottenham Hotspur.

They may still fancy their chances of claiming maximum points in their league opener, having won each of their previous three away games against Bradford, including a 1-0 victory in their most recent visit to Valley Parade in the EFL Trophy semi-finals in February 2024.

Bradford City pre-season form:

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Wycombe Wanderers pre-season form:

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Team News

Bradford defender Neill Byrne has been ruled out for a couple of months with a knee problem, while the hosts are also without the services of forward Andy Cook.

In Byrne's absence, Alexander could line up with a back three featuring Joe Wright, Curtis Tilt and Matthew Pennington.

Summer signings Humphrys and Swan are both in contention to form the centre-forward partnership for the league opener.

As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon the services of midfielder Josh Scowen, who could miss the entire season after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury in May.

Mikki van Sas, Taylor Allen, Dan Casey, James Tilley and Armando Quitirna are among those who could make their Wycombe debuts on Saturday.

Daniel Udoh is likely to lead the line, with Richard Kone edging towards the exit door amid interest from Swansea City and Preston North End.

Bradford City possible starting lineup:

Walker; Wright, Tilt, Pennington; Halliday, Pattison, Metcalfe, Power, Touray; Humphrys, Swan

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Van Sas; Back, Allen, Casey, Harvie; Westergaard, Leahy; Quitirna, Mullins, Tilley; Udoh

We say: Bradford City 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers

Wycombe have enjoyed success in each of their last three trips to Valley Parade, and as the team used to operating at this level, we think that the Chairboys will edge out the newly-promoted hosts to kick off the season with a narrow victory.

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