Stevenage return to The Lamex Stadium for a crucial encounter with fellow promotion hopefuls Bradford City…
Boro remain second in Sky Bet League Two for the thirteenth matchday in a row, as the hunt for promotion continues. The side sit seven points behind league leaders Leyton Orient with three games in hand.
Last weekend, Steve Evans’ men endured a tough test at Sutton United as neither side could break the deadlock in ninety minutes of football.
In terms of League Two clubs, none have as rich a history as Bradford City. The Bantams have an FA Cup to their name after winning the prestigious competition in 1911, and even spent two campaigns in the Premier League from 1999 to 2001. The first campaign saw Bradford claw to safety, but the club was then relegated back to the second tier the following year.
Nowadays, Bradford City find themselves in Sky Bet League Two and will undoubtedly look for promotion this season. The Bantams currently sit ninth in the table but are level on points with the play-off places with a game in hand. Tomorrow, Bradford will be looking for their first league win in five matches and will be searching for their first away victory since November.
Mark Hughes took over as The Bantams’ boss in February 2022, making it his first managerial spell outside the Premier League. The Welshman has had an incredibly illustrious career so far, both in management and as a player. He enjoyed managerial spells at Manchester City, Blackburn and Stoke City, to name a few.
As a player, Hughes won two Premier League titles with Manchester United and four FA Cups in total, as well as being named PFA Players’ Player of the Year on two occasions.
Since Stevenage’s promotion to the football league thirteen years ago, they have faced Bradford City on eleven occasions, winning just twice. Perhaps the most notable of those victories was in 2014 as Francois Zoko scored and Luke Freeman netted a brace in a 3-2 victory in League One at Valley Parade.
This season’s reverse fixture was a difficult one for Boro, early in the season, as The Bantams walked away with a 3-0 victory.
Leigh Doughty has been appointed Match Referee for tomorrow’s fixture with Robert Hyde and Michael Webb as Assistants, and Paul Howard as Fourth Official.
Doughty mostly manages in the Sky Bet Championship and has dished out 100 yellow cards and five reds in twenty-two matches this season.
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