Opposition profile: Bradford City

CURRENT POSITION

The Bantams come into the fixture sitting 12th in Sky Bet League Two, having won five, drawn eight and lost five matches so far this season.

Three of the five wins came in a three-game spell during August, in which Oldham Athletic (2-1), Stevenage (4-1) and Mansfield Town (3-2) were seen off.

They had to wait until October for the next victory, which was against Rochdale (2-0) and they then won 3-1 at Swindon Town later that month.

LAST TIME OUT

An impressive second-half fightback secured Tranmere a 2-1 victory against the Bantams on Tuesday night.

Rovers went close early on when Bradford striker Lee Angol was ideally placed to clear Kieron Morris' powerful header off the line. Bantams' goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell also saved smartly from Josh Hawkes.

In the 26th minute Bradford struck when Levi Sutton converted Angol's smart lay-off at the end of a superb team move down the right.

Just before the interval Yann Songo'o cleared Nicky Maynard's shot off the line after he had rounded O'Donnell.

Two quick-fire Tranmere goals shortly after the restart then turned the game.

Morris drilled home clinically from 22 yards, then Paul Glatzel was perfectly placed to tap home Josh Dacres-Cogley's cross.

Morris almost made it 3-1 to the hosts late on when he fired narrowly off target.



THE MANAGER



Derek Adams became the Bantams’ boss after putting pen to paper on a three-year contract in June 2021.

Adams is an experienced manager who has so far overseen almost 600 games from the dugout in his career.

The Scotsman has previously had spells in charge of Ross County (twice), Plymouth Argyle (winning promotion to League One), and Morecambe who he guided to promotion from Sky Bet League Two in the 2020/21 season.

TOP SCORER



Andy Cook is their leading marksman with seven goals to his name.

After spending the second half of the 2020/2021 season on loan with the Bantams, he signed permanently from Mansfield Town on a two-year deal in June 2021.

The 31-year-old scored eight goals in 16 starts while on loan last term.

Cook is an experienced striker with almost 400 career appearances to his name so far.

THE EVER-PRESENTS

They have four players who have started every league game so far. Former Iron man Alex Gilliead, fellow midfielder Elliot Watt, defender Paudie O'Connor and goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell are the men.

FAMILAR FACES

There are seven players with Scunthorpe connections on their books.

Niall Canavan is club captain and has been a key figure since signing in January from Plymouth Argyle.

Abo Eisa has recently returned from a groin injury and made his first appearance of the season in the Emirates FA Cup first round replay at Exeter City last week.

Gilliead has already made 23 appearances in all competitions, while ex-United loanee Theo Robinson has mainly been used as a substitute but has netted three times in the league and cups so far.

Yann Songo'o has made 12 appearances in the league since following Derek Adams from Morecambe this summer, while Levi Sutton has made 16 appearances in all competitions and scored once.

Finally, Charles Vernam (formerly of our academy) has netted four times in 14 league games.

THE SQUAD