- Bradford City have won five of their last ten matches in all competitions (D4, L1). Marine have won 5, drawn 1 and lost 4 of their last 10 (all competitions).
- Bradford City have conceded an average of just 0.80 goals per game at home (all-competitions).
- Marine have averaged 1.60 goals per away game across all-competitions this season (8 goals total).
Bantams will be a handful for the Mariners
Bradford City have hit a little bit of a sticky patch of form lately, but it is by no means an unassailable spell. They played out a 0-0 draw at Oxford United, a League One side, two weeks ago and then put in their best performance of the season when trouncing Peterborough United 2-0 in the EFL Cup a week later. Then, just last weekend, they were thumped 3-0 at home by Huddersfield Town in another League One match.
Non-league Marine will have watched on with interest, but they shouldn't expect an easy time of it. Michael Duff's men are a high-intensity side that press aggressively and play with energy when they have the ball, they're a well-drilled three at the back system, but they're also a clinical team when they are on the front foot.
At Valley Parade, Bradford have won three, drawn one and lost one of their five games across all-competitions and they've conceded just four goals in that time. That's an average of 0.80 goals conceded per game at this venue, which is pretty decent when compared to their visitors on Saturday.
Marine have lost their way of late
Marine come into this fixture on a run of two straight defeats after losing 2-1 at Chester FC and 4-2 at Buxton, both away from home in National League North. Their form reads 5-1-4 across their last 10 games, so they're not a bad side per se, but they do tend to be scrappy and that isn't the recipe for a giant slaying on this occasion.
The odds are all skewed towards a Bradford City win here, but that's because that's the likeliest outcome. Marine are a long 177/20, which is the right price, but the draw is a steep 21/5 given the quality of opponent.
Back Bradford to edge this one
Our prediction is to go with the heavyweights here. Bradford should win this and, at the prices, it simply makes sense. We do think they can keep a clean sheet if they deal with the counter-attack, so under 2.5 goals at 33/25 fits the bill of a controlled home win. However, both teams to score at 9/10 is also appealing as the Mariners can make life tough for Bradford and could easily nick a goal on the counter.
Will Swan is Bradford's livewire. He has three of Bradford's six goals in their last five games and looks the most likely man to poke one in the box for the home side. Ben Darby has been in form for Marine of late with two goals in the last five, but as they have five in that run, he seems the more likely candidate to hit the scoresheet at The University of Bradford Stadium.
