Preview: Bradford City vs. Morecambe - prediction, team news, lineups

Recording a seventh straight win will be the target for Bradford City when they welcome Morecambe to Valley Parade on Tuesday afternoon in round 24 of the 2023-24 League Two season.

The away side, on the other hand, will be looking to hit a consistent run of form having blown hot and cold over the last couple of weeks.

Match preview

Bradford City showed great powers of recovery to claim a 3-1 triumph over Doncaster Rovers in Saturday's encounter at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Graham Alexander's men fell behind to Joe Ironside's early opener but completed a superb turnaround thanks to two goals from Andy Cook either side of a Tyler Smith strike.

Consequently, the Bantams have moved up to 10th in the League Two table, three points shy of AFC Wimbledon in the race for the final playoff spot.

Lying in store next is the challenge of an opposing outfit with little to choose between the teams of late, with the last six meetings yielding three wins apiece.

Having netted 10 goals across their last three home outings, Tuesday's hosts will back themselves to put on another attacking masterclass in front of their fans.

Morecambe were on the receiving end of a comprehensive 3-1 defeat against Milton Keynes Dons at the Mazuma Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Ged Brannan's men trailed to Max Dean's strike just past the half-hour mark but managed to restore parity through Joshua McKiernan before Joe Tomlinson and Dean decided the game in the final 20 minutes.

With 31 points amassed from 21 matches, the Shrimps sit 12th in the standings and will leapfrog their next opponents should they claim all three points on Boxing Day.

Off the back of two straight wins on the road by a combined score of 7-0, Tuesday's visitors set out to continue their recent upturn in form away from home.

Bradford City League Two form:

• L
• L
• W
• W
• W
• W

Bradford City form (all competitions):

• W
• W
• W
• W
• W
• W

Morecambe League Two form:

• L
• L
• L
• D
• W
• L

Morecambe form (all competitions):

• L
• L
• W
• D
• W
• L

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Team News

Bradford City's Andy Cook has found the back of the net in each of his last four appearances, making him one to keep an eye on here.

Ash Taylor will be pushing for a recall to the hosts' starting lineup having made his return to action from a two-game suspension last time out.

Donald Love is yet to feature for Morecambe since early November due to a knee problem, which is set to keep the Scot out of Tuesday's game.

With 13 goals to his name this term, Michael Mellon was a big miss for the visitors against MK Dons, but the 20-year-old should be fit enough to play a part in this one.

Bradford City possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Kelly, Platt, Tomkinson; Richards, Smallwood, Gilliead, Halliday; Walker, Cook, Smith

Morecambe possible starting lineup:
Smith; Tutonda, Bedeau, Connolly, Senior; Songo'o, King; Mayor, McKiernan, Bloxham; Mellon

We say: Bradford City 2-1 Morecambe

Bradford are on a better run of results coming into this one and coupled with the added advantage of playing on home turf, we are backing them to just about get the job done come the end of the 90 minutes.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data

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