Bradford City v Crawley Town preview: Reds look to extend excellent record at the Bantams

The Reds have enjoyed playing Bradford in recent years, with four wins and a draw in the last five meetings between the sides.

You’d have to go back to October 2019 to the last time Bradford beat Crawley, in a 2-1 victory for the Bantams, where current Crawley player Aramide Oteh started for Bradford.

Despite going through a slightly sticky patch at the moment Bradford have made a good start to the season under Mark Hughes.

Just three defeats from the opening 14 games saw Bradford sat in fifth prior to the midweek fixtures in League Two.

Mark Hughes has certainly got his side playing well, especially his top scorer Andy Cook.

Cook had ten goals and one assist to his name in League Two before their game against Swindon on Tuesday night. You’d have to drop all the way down to Jake Young, Scott Banks and Tyreik Wright on two goals to find the Bantams second-top scorer.

It’s clear to see that Hughes’ side rely heavily on Cook’s goals and he’ll be the man Crawley need to keep quiet.

His big physical presence will make it difficult for Crawley’s relatively small backline and he’ll certainly cause a big threat.

The way Crawley have been playing since the departure of Kevin Betsy, there’s no reason why they can’t go and get a result from Bradford, despite the difference in league positions.

Going back to basics seems to have done wonders for Crawley and the spirit within the squad seems to be much higher than it was before.

A repeat of Tony Craig’s 95th minute winner from last time at Bradford would be highly appreciated by the travelling fans, but a tough test is in store for Crawley, who will have to be at their best.