MY ACCOUNT
The first set of fixtures in the EFL Cup take place this week, and one of the ties of the round is being staged at the University of Bradford Stadium as Bradford City entertain Hull City on Tuesday, with kick-off at 7.45pm.
The Bantams surprised everyone by going all the way to the 2013 League Cup final when they were then a League Two club.
Bradford followed up that superb cup run with promotion but they now find themselves back in League Two and will be looking to spring another surprise against a team who are two divisions above them in the English pyramid.
Team News
Both Bradford boss Mark Hughes and Hull City coach Shota Arveladze are set to make changes to their starting XI’s, even though a cup run would be a boost to their clubs from a financial viewpoint.
The Bantams have yet to record a victory in League Two from their opening two games, and Hughes will want to freshen things up if he can.
Andrew Cook, Jake Young, Levi Sutton and Yann Songo’o will all be pushing to start, while Colin Doyle may get the nod in goal.
Injuries will force Arveladze’s hand, with Brandon Fleming, Dogukan Sinik, Nathan Baxter and Billy Chadwick all injured for Tuesday’s clash.
The Tigers, who are unbeaten so far this season, could hand starts to Callum Elder, Andy Cannon, Vaughn Covil, Randell Williams and Mallik Wilks.
The stats
The pressure is on Hughes to succeed this season after another poor campaign last time out.
Bradford finished 14th in League Two last season, although that was not entirely down to Hughes as he was only appointed as manager in February.
The former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City boss has made a slow start to the new season with his side having picked up just one point from their opening two games, losing 3-2 at Barrow last time out having drawn 0-0 at home to Doncaster first up.
Bradford’s form in the Carabao Cup is also far from comforting.
With their league campaign perhaps having been the main focus, the Bantams have lost eight of their last nine Carabao Cup fixtures.
The Tigers ended their road campaign last season with back-to-back defeats while their first away game this term ended in a 0-0 draw at Preston.
That disappointing run means they may need to be patient against a team who have not lost in five at home in League Two, although it is worth noting that three of those games were draws.
Prediction
Hull’s upcoming league fixtures are not for the faint-hearted, with the Tigers preparing to tackle Norwich City, Burnley and West Brom before the end of the month.
Arveladze will likely want to make alterations to his squad ahead of that tricky trio of matches, and that may play into Bradford’s hands a little.
Hull’s superior squad strength, however, should still see them progress inside 90 minutes, but it would come as no shock to see the Bantams find the back of the net in front of their own supporters.
The Tigers have found it something of a struggle on their travels to find the back of the net, having been kept off the scoresheet in their last two away games.
However, with Bradford playing their football two divisions below Hull, the Tigers should still have the quality towhat it takes to come out on top.
