Relegation-threatened Grimsby Town take on Bradford City, who reside in mid-table, at Blundell Park on Monday afternoon in League Two.
The hosts are 21st in the table with a three-point gap over the relegation zone, holding a game in hand on those around them, while Bradford City are 14th, 17 points clear of the bottom two and seven away from the playoffs.
Match preview
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After a comfortable 11th-placed finish last season, Grimsby have had a disappointing campaign this time around, sitting in 21st place after 39 games played and just three points above 23rd-placed Sutton United.
A poor start in the league saw Paul Hurst eventually dismissed after just under three years in the job, having guided his side to just three wins in the opening 20 matches across all competitions.
Shaun Pearson took over as interim manager and was able to steady the ship in his five matches in charge of the side, going unbeaten in that time with two wins and three draws.
The decision to hire David Artell as the new permanent manager was made at the end of November, and while the Mariners were unbeaten in their first three league fixtures under their new boss, it quickly went downhill soon after.
Since then Grimsby have played 17 times, going on to lose eight and draw six, something that has been a major problem for the hosts throughout the duration of the season.
While they have lost 16 times in 39 games - the fewest defeats in the bottom 10 of the table - Grimsby's main issue has been their inability to turn draws into victories as they have recorded a league-high 15 stalemates this campaign.
With Colchester United and Sutton United both picking up victories in their previous outings, Sutton winning all of their last three, Artell's side must start taking all three points from their games if they are to avoid relegation back into the National League.
As for Bradford, they appear to be destined for a sixth consecutive season in League Two as they hold a comfortable 17-point lead over the relegation zone, but also trail the playoff places by seven points with just six matches left to play.
That will come as a disappointment to the Bantams as their objectives for this season would have been to go one step further than last season, when they lost in the playoff semi-finals to Carlisle United.
An inconsistent start to this campaign led to the eventual sacking of Mark Hughes, who had been in the job since February 2022, in the hopes that the next manager could galvanise the side and make a surge up the table.
After a spell under interim boss Kevin McDonald, Bradford eventually hired Graham Alexander, who kicked off his time at the club with losses in their first two outings.
However, they followed that up with an eight-game unbeaten run that included six wins on the bounce, but that has proven to be Alexander's only lengthy spell of positive results.
In the 19 matches they have played since that run, they have lost eight and won seven, continuing the inconsistent theme that has been synonymous with Bradford's season.
Alexander will now be looking to put together a run of good performances and results to build upon for next season, when Bradford will be aiming to achieve at least playoff qualification once again.
Team News
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Grimsby suffered two injuries in their previous outing against Barrow, when Arthur Gnahoua and Kieran Green were forced off, leaving them as doubts for this one.
However, the hosts will be boosted by the return of their top scorer Danny Rose, who made his first appearance off the bench in the last game after missing three with injury.
As for Bradford, they will remain without midfielder Alex Pattison, who is set to continue his lengthy spell on the treatment table after a severe back injury in December.
Alex Gilliead has missed the previous two matches and is a doubt once again for this one.
With no fresh injury concerns from their 2-0 victory over Tranmere Rovers on Friday, Alexander is expected to name the same lineup for this outing.
Grimsby Town possible starting lineup:
Cartwright; Mullarkey, Tharme, Rodgers; Clifton, Thompson, Holohan, Hume; Rose, Wood; Obikwu
Bradford City possible starting lineup:
Walker; Oyegoke, Platt, Kelly; Halliday, Walker, Smallwood, Richards; Pointon; Smith, Kavanagh
We say: Grimsby Town 0-1 Bradford City
Grimsby have failed to beat Bradford City in any of the last 20 meetings between the two, with their last victory coming as a 2-0 home victory in October 1998, and we expect that long barren spell to continue.
Bradford comfortably won 2-0 in their last outing against Tranmere Rovers, and we expect them to build on that victory with another three points at Blundell Park.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
