Simon Grayson's Bantams make the long journey south to Plymouth Argyle this Saturday (24 February 3018) in Sky Bet League One.
After missing out on a match last weekend due to Wigan Athletic's involvement in the Emirates FA Cup, City's Plymouth fixture this Saturday will be their first in ten days and only Grayson's second official match in charge of the Bantams.
Having only just arrived at the club at the time, Grayson and assistant Glynn Snodin brought along Kenny Black and Greg Abbott to help guide them through the Charlton Athletic fixture a week last Tuesday.
This time around, however, Grayson should have a better idea about his newly acquired squad and will feel in a stronger position to begin to put his own stamp on things.
It could be argued then that this will be the new manager's first 'proper' game in charge of the Bantams.
Grayson and his City squad will travel to Devon this weekend ready to face a Plymouth side who have enjoyed a quite remarkable turnaround since the first league meeting between the two teams.
Plymouth were bottom of the table when they headed to the Northern Commercials Stadium for the reverse fixture back in November.
Thanks to a stunning run of form, though, Derek Adams' Pilgrims now find themselves level on points with the Bantams after a superb spell of five straight victories.
Plymouth have actually only lost once in fourteen games since their defeat at the hands of the Bantams in the FA Cup in early December.
Team News
Plymouth Argyle
The Pilgrims spent the early part of the week in the sunshine of Spain, training at the Marbella Football Centrer in the Costa Del Sol in preparation for the visit of City.
Plymouth could recall Oscar Threlkeld to their side at the weekend after the right back missed last Saturday's win at Oxford United due to illness.
A return to the side for Threlkeld would likely mean Zak Vyner, who filled in at right back at Oxford, moving across into his usual centre back position.
Bradford City
Bantams centre half Matthew Kilgallon returns from suspension after missing the draw at Charlton Athletic last time out.
Fellow defender Ryan McGowan is expected to miss out, however, after the Australian underwent surgery on a knee injury this week.
Jake Reeves continues to be sidelined with a troublesome groin problem, although Alex Jones and Omari Patrick are edging ever closer to a return to first team contention.
Earlier this season (in the league)
Saturday 11 November 2017
Sky Bet League One
Bradford City 0
Plymouth Argyle 1 (Jervis 35)
BRADFORD CITY LINE UP:
Doyle, McMahon, Knight-Percival, Kilgallon, Field (Robinson 46), Taylor, Vincelot, Reeves (Gilliead 65), Law, Jones (Poleon 71), Wyke
Subs not used: Sattelmaier, Hendrie, Thompson, Gibson
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE LINE UP:
Matthews, Edwards, Bradley, Sawyer, Taylor-Sinclair, Songo'o, Ainsworth (Sarcevic 64), Diagouraga, Fox (Blissett 83), Grant, Jervis
Subs not used: Miller, Lameiras, Wylde, Fletcher, Cooper
Previous visit to Home Park
Tuesday 12 March 2013
npower League Two
Plymouth Argyle 0
Bradford City 0
PLYMOUTH ARGYLE LINE UP:
Cole, Bianchard, Branston, Bhasera, Bryan (Harvey 86), Hourihane, Cox, Wotton, Banton, Gurrieri (Cowan-Hall 86), Reid (Chadwick 69)
Subs not used: Chenoweth, Berry, Young, Murray
BRADFORD CITY LINE UP:
Duke, Darby, Davies, McArdle, McHugh, Ravenhill, Reid, Thompson (Connell 80), Doyle, Gray (Hanson 67), Hines (Atkinson 78)
Subs not used: McLaughlin, Nelson, Jones, Wells
Away Fans' Guide
Check out all the relevant match-day information for those supporters making the trip to Home Park this Saturday - HERE.
Ticket update
Supporters will be able to pay on the day at Home Park this Saturday but prices will increase by £2.00 from the pre-match admission rates. Fans can either pay cash on the turnstiles or by card from the ticket office.
Simon Grayson's pre-match thoughts
Watch a snippet of Grayson's pre-match interview with iFollow Bantams.
Minute's applause
There will be a minute's applause ahead of kick off on Saturday in honour of former Plymouth chairman Robert Daniel, who sadly passed away last week.
One Game, One Community
Saturday's game will be Plymouth's 'One Game, One Community' match-day, an event which is part of the national Kick It Out campaign that aims to tackle all forms of discrimination in football. There will be a half-time parade by local teams and organisations, while both sides will wear specially commissioned t-shirts during the pre-match warm-up.
Last time using yellow
With this Saturday's game set to be City's final fixture of February, the Plymouth encounter will be the Bantams' last using the yellow 'winter' match-balls. From the Portsmouth game onwards (City's first fixture in March), Simon Grayson's men will go back to using the traditional white match footballs.
Kit colours
The Bantams will be using their claret and navy 'away' strip at Plymouth this Saturday.
Match officials
This Saturday's contest with Plymouth will be officiated by Graham Salisbury. The Lancashire-based referee has taken charge of thirty matches so far this season, including City's home game with Fleetwood Town back in September. The two assistant referees alongside Mr Salisbury will be Louis Marks and Simon Knapp. The fourth official at Home Park is scheduled to be Mark Russell.
Back the Bantams
City supporters can back the Bantams for success away to Plymouth Argyle with Sky Bet!
City are currently priced at 9/5 to defeat Plymouth at Home Park.
The Bantams are also priced at 9/1 to beat Plymouth by a 1-0 scoreline.
Tyrell Robinson is available at 12/1 to opening the scoring, while Paul Taylor can be backed at 2/1 to score at anytime during the game.
Fans can place their bets now with Sky Bet by clicking HERE.
Please note, odds are subject to change.
Coverage
For those unable to get to Home Park on Saturday, City supporters can follow live updates from the Plymouth Argyle game via the club's official website, plus Facebook and Twitter pages.
City's Facebook and Twitter pages will include game updates on match-day, while the 'Match Centre' on the official website will give supporters all the stats, news and in-game action.
Full audio match commentary of the Plymouth match can be found via iFollow Bantams. Keep up to date with BBC Radio Leeds' Tim Steere for match action and reaction from the game.
Subscribers of iFollow Bantams will now actually be able to hear post-match interviews from Simon Grayson and the players directly after the game via the extended audio match-day service.
New for this season, iFollow subscribers outside the UK and Ireland will also be able to watch LIVE coverage of the match as it happens!
Video post-match interviews from Simon Grayson and his players, plus extended match highlights over the coming days, are also available via iFollow.
On top of all that, iFollow subscribers can get interviews, action, previous encounters and highlights as well in the build up to Saturday's match.