Match Preview: Barrow v Bradford City (Tuesday, 7.45pm)

Bradford City visit Barrow at the SO Legal Stadium on late Tuesday on the back of three consecutive wins in League Two.

Bradford have picked up 13 points from their last six games, and they face a Bluebirds side who lost their last match, and have collected four points from the last possible 18.

In the last 10 years, Barrow and Bradford have played each other on seven occasions. Barrow won four of them, Bradford two, and they drew once.

On average, the Bluebirds scored 1.4 goals and the Bantams 1.1 in those matches.

Their last meeting was on November 11, when Barrow won 2-1 away.

With Paul Farman between the sticks, Barrow can rely on one of the league’s safest pair of hands. He has kept 14 clean sheets in his 42 appearances this season, and only two other ‘keepers – Stockport County’s Ben Hinchiffe and AFC Wimbledon‘s Alex Bass – have been able to prevent the opposition scoring on more occasions in League Two.

In Bradford’s net, Harry Lewis has eight clean sheets in 26 games. He has conceded a goal every 73 minutes, 10% more often than the 77 minutes between goals for Farman.

The Bluebirds are sixth in the table after 44 games, of which they have won 18 and drawn 14, earning 68 points.

City are four places behind the home side in 10th, with 17 wins and 12 draws putting them on 63 points.

With 55 goals in 44 games so far this season, the Bantams are scoring at below the league average rate with 1.2 goals per game. But they are conceding fewer than average too, letting in 57 goals at a rate of 1.3 per game.

Barrow are also below average scorers, with 1.4 goals per game, compared to a league average of 1.5. They have conceded 1.2 goals per game.

Barrow’s last match was on Saturday, a 4-2 loss against Doncaster Rovers, with Emile Acquah and Rory Feely getting the goals for the Bluebirds.

Bradford beat Walsall 3-2 last time out, also on Saturday, with Jamie Walker (two) and Andy Cook on the scoresheet.

Tuesday’s match will be refereed by Ross Joyce, who has taken charge of 15 League Two games so far this season, issuing five red cards and booking 71 players. He has awarded two penalties.

The last Bradford game Joyce refereed was the 0-0 draw at home against AFC Wimbledon on February 3. He is yet to oversee a match featuring Barrow this season.

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Barrow v Bradford City
League Two | SO Legal Stadium
Tuesday, 23 April 2024 @ 7.45pm

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