Bradford City will aim to continue their climb up the League Two table on Friday, when they make the trip across Yorkshire to take on Doncaster Rovers.
The Bantams now sit 14th thanks to three straight victories under Neil Alexander, while their hosts are five points worse off in 19th spot following a 5-0 beating last time out.
Match preview
© Reuters
Doncaster Rovers will return to the Eco-Power Stadium on Friday aiming to bounce back from a heavy home defeat last time out in what has been a disappointing first half to the League Two campaign.
Under the new management of the returning Grant McCann, the South Yorkshire outfit set out for a playoff push this time around, but they currently find themselves 19th after 21 fourth-tier outings, having amassed just 24 points.
In those games, Rovers have suffered 11 defeats while only managing seven victories, with just a single triumph coming in their last five matches as they beat 22nd-placed Colchester United 3-1 on home turf in late November.
McCann's men have been unable to build on that result in their two attempts since, firstly having to settle for a point from a goalless draw away at Accrington Stanley before most recently hosting Morecambe and suffering a 5-0 thrashing as Michael Mellon helped himself to a brace for the visitors alongside goals from Eli King, Jacob Bedeau and David Tutonda.
Such a result saw Doncaster Rovers drop further down England's fourth tier, and now two games away from the halfway stage of the term, they will be desperate to begin a turnaround with a statement home win before Christmas on Friday with the chance to move back within two points of their visitors.
© Reuters
They meet a Bradford City side who will aim to continue their improvement after enduring a similarly underwhelming start to the League Two campaign under the management of Mark Hughes.
He departed in early October with the Bantams sat 18th in England's fourth tier, having set out for another promotion push this time around, and after a mixed run under the temporary stewardship of Kevin McDonald, the club hierarchy turned to Graham Alexander at the beginning of last month.
The new boss was initially unable to inspire a turnaround in the Bantams' form, as they lost in his first two league games at the helm, making it four defeats on the bounce, but they now look to have turned a corner having bounced back with three straight fourth-tier triumphs heading into the festive period.
Following an emphatic EFL Trophy victory over Barnsley, the West Yorkshire outfit scored their first points under Alexander in a 1-0 victory at home to Accrington Stanley, before travelling to Forest Green Rovers in the league and hosting Liverpool Under-21s in the EFL Trophy and dishing out 3-0 and 4-0 beatings respectively.
Now heading into Friday's trip on the back of a hard-fought 2-0 victory away at Gillingham on Saturday, courtesy of goals from Jamie Walker and Andy Cook, Bradford City travel to Doncaster in a run of five straight wins in all competitions and three in League One and will aim to build further momentum and stand a chance of cracking the top half with another three-point haul on Friday.
Team News
© Reuters
Grant McCann will likely make several changes to the Doncaster Rovers starting XI that suffered a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Morecambe at the weekend, although he may again be unable to call on key midfielder Ben Close, who missed that game through injury.
In their 3-5-2 shape, Joe Ironside and Mo Faal should again line up up front, having netted 12 and nine goals respectively so far this term following their summer arrivals.
Veteran Tommy Rowe should return to the midfield in place of either Harrison Biggins or Kyle Hurst, while Jamie Sterry may earn his first league start since the opening day on the right-hand side, with Joseph Olowu, Tom Anderson and Jack Senior again set to line up in a back three in captain Richard Wood's ongoing absence.
Bradford City, on the other hand, will likely be unchanged from Saturday's 2-0 win away at Gillingham, with Andy Cook bound to again lead the line having netted his eighth league goal of the season in that triumph after topping the fourth tier's scoring charts with 28 alongside eight assists last time around.
He will again be joined by Tyler Smith, while Jamie Walker will continue to offer further attacking support in their 3-4-1-2 shape, after he opened the scoring last time out.
Alex Gilliead will again join Richard Smallwood in the engine room, while Norwich City loanee Jonathan Tomkinson will continue to feature alongside Matthew Platt and Ciaran Kelly in a back three.
Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Jones; Olowu, Anderson, Senior; Sterry, Biggins, Rowe, Bailey, Nixon; Ironside, Faal
Bradford City possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Tomkinson, Platt, Kelly; Halliday, Gilliead, Smallwood, Richards; Walker; Cook, Smith
We say: Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Bradford City
While there is not much to split these two sides on quality, Doncaster Rovers continue to struggle to live up to expectations, while Bradford appear to be clicking under Alexander, and we fancy them to continue their winning run in Friday's Yorkshire derby given the hosts' lack of momentum.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Sam Varley
