A preview of the 3pm kick-off at Valley Parade.
LIKELY LINE-UPS
Bradford (3-4-2-1): Walker; Touray, McIntyre, Byrne; Neufville, Pattison, Power, Wright; Pointon, Sarcevic; Swan.
Barnsley (4-2-3-1): Cooper; Watson, Shepherd, Earl, Ogbeta; Bland, Connell; Phillips, Vickers, Cleary; Keillor-Dunn
TEAM NEWS
Barnsley: Out:Fabio Jalo. Doubts: Marc Roberts, Georgie Gent.
Bradford: Out injured: Curtis Tilt, Aden Baldwin. Doubts: Bobby Pointon.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Simon Parker, Bradford Telegraph and Argus
The start to this season has been beyond expectations.
After six years in League Two, it felt a bit of a step into the unknown returning to the third tier but City have been excellent for the first two months.
Graham Alexander likes his team to play on the front foot, pressing high and trying to nick the ball off opponents well up the pitch.
They look to release the wing-backs at every opportunity and the centre halves are also encouraged to push up into space.
Centre halves Curtis Tilt and Aden Baldwin are currently out injured.
Andy Cook is still making a gradual return from his ACL injury in January and fellow striker Calum Kavanagh made his first appearance of the season in the EFL Trophy after a shin issue.
REFEREE
Andrew Humphries, Northamptonshire
While part of the build-up might be about Stephen Humphrys facing his old club, his near namesake the referee may also have a vital role to play in this derby.
Humphries has only taken charge of one previous Barnsley game, the 1-1 home draw with Peterborough in April.
His only Bradford game saw him send off Jack Shepherd, now back at Barnsley, for a disputed last-man challenge in the 17th minute of a 0-0 draw at Newport in February.
He also brandished three red cards in his first five games of this season.
KEY BATTLES
JACK SHEPHERD v ANTONI SARCEVIC
When Sarcevic’s 96th-minute deflected shot trickled into the back of Fleetwood Town’s net on the final day of last season to secure Bradford’s promotion from League Two, Shepherd was one of his overjoyed team-mates who mobbed him while fans streamed onto the Valley Parade pitch.
Five months on and they are likely to come directly up against each other on Saturday with Shepherd, who has returned to his parent club after a successful loan across Yorkshire, playing at centre-back and Sarcevic taking up his usual position as one of two Bradford number tens.
Shepherd has blocked the most shots in League One this season of any player and has arguably been the Reds’ most consistent centre-back.
Sarcevic has already scored four league goals this season as has Will Swan, who usually plays a striker for City, while the other attacking midfielder Bobby Pointon has five. Academy product Pointon is a doubt with a shoulder issue.
That is a potent Bradford attack which will look to cause problems for a Reds defence who have kept just one clean sheet this season in all competitions.
LUCA CONNELL V MAX POWER
Midfielder Power has played more than 300 League One games, mainly for Wigan Athletic with whom he was promoted to the Championship three times.
The 32-year-old returned to England this season after spells in Saudi Arabia and Denmark and missed the previous league match having picked up five early bookings.
Power often plays in central midfield pairing alongside Tommy Leigh who scored home and away for Accrington against the Reds in the 2022/23 season.
But Alex Pattison scored in Power’s absence in the previous game.
They are an experienced duo to come up against teenager Jono Bland and Reds captain Connell, who have had a good start to this season as a partnership in general.
Connell has looked back to somewhere near his best for much of this season in a holding role, while he is in the league’s top ten for ‘key passes’ which lead to a chance.
In Barnsley’s previous game at Wycombe, Adam Phillips and Caylan Vickers lined up in front of Bland and Connell in what resembled a 4-2-2-2 formation.
REYES CLEARY V JOSH NEUFVILLE
Cleary’s first ever start in the top four leagues could not have gone much better from an individual point of view as he scored his first EFL goal then helped set up the second at Wycombe.
He is likely to come up against another powerful and pacy presence in Bradford’s right wing-back Josh Neufville who joined from fellow promoted club Wimbledon in the summer and has scored three times in his last four league games with two assists this season. He is also in the top five for tackles in League One.
Cleary may be hoping to get the chance to take on right centre-back Neill Byrne who is playing regularly in League One for the first time at 32 having spent most of his career in non-league football.
At Wycombe, Reyes often pushed up from the left wing to play alongside striker Davis Keillor-Dunn who will be aiming to add to his seven goals this season having scored four previously against the Bantams for Oldham Athletic and Mansfield Town.
BARNSLEY’S BENCH V STEPHEN HUMPHRYS
Humphrys joined Barnsley for last season and, after netting four goals by November, did not score in his next 23 appearances across almost four months before finishing with five in as many games at the end of the season.
His one-year contract had an option for a further year but it was not taken up and it is understood he was instead offered a different deal on less money than offered by Bradford who he enjoyed instead.
Humphrys admitted he struggled playing as a ‘targetman’ at Barnsley under Darrell Clarke and preferred the left-wing role he was given by Hourihane, but Bradford manager Graham Alexander has said he agreed with the player that he has signed as a striker.
Humphrys had a quiet start to his time with the Bantams, missing a game due to tonsillitis, while he has only scored once in the league and has not started in the league since August.
But he led the line as a striker on Tuesday and netted twice in a 5-1 victory at home to Everton under 21s in the EFL Trophy.
He is kind of experienced League One player and talented wide man Barnsley would love to have at least on their bench.
Bradford have also been bringing on lower league veteran striker Andy Cook.
No Reds substitute has scored or assisted a goal in the league so far this season, after Humphrys netted three times off the bench last season.
Barnsley have not had a fit senior striker among their substitutes all season but they might for this game with David McGoldrick apparently fit again.
McGoldrick scored three goals in three games against Bradford across the last two seasons for Notts County in League Two.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
Bantams 5, Reds 1 – November 21, 2023
Neill Collins’ side were thrashed in the final group game of the EFL Trophy in front of 604 away fans, but went through anyway. The starting 11 contained Luca Connell, who was just returning from his long illness lay-off, as well as youngsters like Charlie Hickingbottom and Aaron Atkinson.
The hosts were 3-0 up after 35 minutes with goals by Matt Platt, Andy Cook and Tyler Smith. Lewis Richards and ex-Red Clarke Oduor, who is now on loan at Grimsby Town, made it 5-0 midway through the second half. Substitute Barry Cotter pulled one back then Jack Shepherd, who had a tough game at the club he would help to promotion the following season, was sent off late on for pulling back Smith.
Bantams 0, Reds 2 – August 11, 2018
Daniel Stendel’s Barnsley built on their opening day 4-0 win over Oxford with another victory and clean sheet. Tom Bradshaw – who would be sold to Millwall that month – headed in the seventh-minute opener then substitute Victor Adeboyejo secured the win midway through the second half.
The Reds would be promoted that season and Bradford relegated, having lost 3-0 at Oakwell in January in the most recent league meeting of the clubs thanks to goals by Jacob Brown, Kieffer Moore and Alex Mowatt.
Bantams 1, Reds 0 – April 25, 2015
This was Barnsley’s last league defeat to Bradford in their first visit to their near neighbours in a decade. There was an emotional tribute to the 56 people who died in a fire at Valley Parade 30 years earlier, with England manager Roy Hodgson one of those to lay a wreath. It was a dull game decided by an impressive volley in the 17th minute by Jon Stead, who was a Reds coach last season alongside Conor Hourihane – who played in the game for Barnsley – before leaving in the summer.
Bantams 4, Reds 0 – August 11, 2001
An early warning sign of what was to come that season for Barnsley who dropped into the third tier amid pending financial disaster. Their former star striker Ashley Ward scored twice from the penalty spot, once after being fouled by Chris Morgan then when Bruce Dyer pulled down Gunnar Halle. His namesake Mitch Ward was sent off just before half-time for the Reds. The other goals were scored by Eoin Jess and Benito Carbone with an overhead kick.
