STAR PREVIEW: Bradford City v Aldershot Town

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]radford are unbeaten in their last seven league games and with home advantage should outclass Aldershot Town from the National League in their FA Cup replay at Valley Parade tonight (LIVE ON BT).

The first leg finished 0-0 and the carrot of a second round home tie against Chesham United will appeal to both teams as they bid to reach the potentially lucrative third round of the competition.

Bradford, in particular, will relish that, given they beat Chelsea (in the days we thought THEY were good) 4-2 in the Cup last season despite being 2-0 down at Stamford Bridge. That surely must rate as one of the biggest in-play shocks in recent sporting history.

The Bantams boss Phil Parkinson believes his current crop is the best squad he has assembled during his time as City boss but is wary of the challenge of the non-leaguers. He said: “We’ve got to be ready and I’ll be stressing to the lads that we can’t afford anybody who goes into the game not at 100 per cent in terms of their commitment levels. We know the prize which awaits the winners but what we’ve got to do is get there is the key and that’s what we’ll be focusing on.”

He added: “We’ve got to maintain those confidence levels by putting in the performances and concentrate purely on tonight’s game. From there we will move on to the next league game – it’s as simple as that because you can’t really look too far ahead in football.”

Bradford City v Aldershot Town
FA Cup 1st Round Replay
19:45 BT Sport 2 / BT Sport 2 HD

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD
(Maximum 10 matches)
Nov 2015 FA CUP Aldershot 0-0 Bradford
Mar 2013 LEAGUE TWO Bradford 1-1 Aldershot
Nov 2012 LEAGUE TWO Aldershot 0-2 Bradford
Mar 2012 LEAGUE TWO Aldershot 1-0 Bradford
Aug 2011 LEAGUE TWO Bradford 1-2 Aldershot
Apr 2011 LEAGUE TWO Bradford 2-1 Aldershot
Jan 2011 LEAGUE TWO Aldershot 1-0 Bradford
Mar 2010 LEAGUE TWO Bradford 2-1 Aldershot
Mar 2010 LEAGUE TWO Aldershot 1-0 Bradford
Mar 2009 LEAGUE TWO Bradford 5-0 Aldershot

The last thing Bradford will want is extra time or even less so the lottery of a penalty shootout so I expect them to make their mark on the game early and be in front at both half-time and full time which is around evens on Star Sports.

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