Our prediction for this League 2 match:
Valley Parade will host the League Two playoffs clash between Bradford City and Carlisle United. The Bantams finished the regular season in 6th place in the standings and they were level on points with their Sunday’s rivals. With no fresh injury worries to report, boss Mark Hughes is unlikely to make changes to the team that shared the spoils with newly-promoted Leyton Orient at the weekend.
The Cumbrians, on the other hand, head into the match following a 1-1 draw with Sutton. Since important defender Jonathan Mellish continues to miss out through suspension, we are tempted to put our money on Bradford, who are a real force to be reckoned with at home. A man to watch in the away team will be experienced forward Kristian Dennis, who has netted 20 goals in the League Two so far this season.
Highlighted Player (Tomas Holy):
Born in the town of Rychnov nad Kneznou, Czechoslovakia, Tomas Holy is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper for Ipswich Town in League One. The 27-year-old was born on the 10th of December, 1991, and joined FC Hradec Kralove's youth academy in 2006. After spending four years with them, he signed for Sparta Prague and started playing for its B team.
His first professional appearance for AC Sparta Prague B came on the 11th of June, 2011, in a 1-2 home loss against FK Varnsdorf. He went on to ply his trade-in Czech football for the next six years before moving to Gillingham in England on the 20th of January, 2017, on a two and a half year contract. Gillingham's manager praised the 2.06m tall goalkeeper's "large presence" and "ball-kicking ability," stating them as reasons behind his recruitment. In his time at Gillingham, Holy made 107 appearances and kept 25 clean sheets in all competitions.
On the 24th of May, 2019, Holy joined Ipswich on a free transfer and made an immediate impact. He kept six clean sheets in his first ten league games for Ipswich, including a run of five consecutive clean sheets, a club record. Internationally, Holy has capped at the under-16, under-17, and under-18 level for his country but is yet to receive a call up for the first team.
Highlighted Team (Bradford):
Founded back in 1903, Bradford City are professional football club that compete in League Two. The Bantams are well known for their claret and amber shirts, whereas white is the dominant colour of their away kit. Bradford City maintain rivalries with Leeds United and Huddersfield Town, with the teams facing each other in the West Yorkshire derby.
The Bantams participated in the Bradford derby with local rivals Bradford Park Avenue in the past. Bradford City did remarkably well to win the FA Cup in 1911, with the team beating Newcastle United in the final. In 2013 the club made it to the League Cup final, where they suffered a heavy 5-0 loss to Swansea City in the title game.
Saint Kitts and Nevis international Ces Poss is the player with most appearances (502) for the club, while former Northern Ireland attacker Bobby Campbell is sitting in the top position in the Bradford City all-time top goalscorers list.