Yeovil Town are back in SkyBet League One action this coming Saturday as the Glovers host Bradford City with a 3pm kick off.
Yeovil are looking to kick start their second half of the season campaign with a home win that could put them back within touching distance of the safety zone.
Lying bottom of the pile, even a win wouldn’t even be enough to launch the Glovers out of 24th place, with Crawley Town four points ahead in 23rd.
Leyton Orient are the side to be chased however, with the O’s in 20th five points ahead of Gary Johnson’s side.
This weekend’s opponents, Bradford are fighting at the other end of the SkyBet League table with a play off spot not out of the question as an end of season target.
The Bantams are currently fifth, a full 15 points off the automatic spots.
Yeovil’s last outing was last weekend, a 2-0 loss away at Barnsley, in that match Ben Nugent saw red for an off the ball incident and as such will be serving the first of a four match ban.
The Cardiff loanee has been sent off once before this season and as such, will serve and elongated time in the stands.
Yeovil weren’t the only side to see a man sent off last Saturday, Bradford too saw their ‘keeper Jordan Pickford sent off.
Pickford’s ban was only one match in length and so used that up in the midweek cup fixture, so will be available again for the first team at Huish Park.
Bradford lost that game with only ten men as they succumbed to a late Rochdale winner. The game ending 2-1 to the away side.
On Wednesday night, Yeovil’s players will have been resting up and going over set pieces, Bradford’s however, were in an FA Cup Third Round Replay against Championship side Millwall.
The Yorkshire side made the home advantage count and caused a quite remarkable upset. A 4-0 win saw the League One side progress into Round 4 and a tie against Chelsea.
Four separate scorers did the damage including Jon Stead, James Hanson, Billy Knott and Andy Halliday.
Hanson, Knott and Stead have notched 20 goals between them this season and that is one more than the whole Yeovil squad combined in the league.
In order to try and change that Gary Johnson has added two front men to his squad.
Former loanee, Gozie Ugwu has joined on a six month contract while Norwich youngster Jamar Loza has been added on a month long loan deal.
At the time of writing the management team were still hoping to add some defensive cover to boost options but with Nathan Smith, Seth Twumasi and Calvin Brooks offering some flexibility in the back four, there may be a reshuffle rather than an addition in time for kick off.
The injury list gained two notable additions this past week with Kevin Dawson and Simon Gillett both missing the Barnsley game and both players could be out for longer rather than shorter terms.
Elsewhere, long standing problems with Liam Davis and Joel Grant continue to be monitored.
Saturday’s bench for the Glovers included just five names, with two additions the bench should at least be full.
When the two sides met earlier this season, the Glovers put on arguably one of their best performances of the season with a 3-1 away win for Yeovil.
Aaron Martin, who has since left for Coventry, scored twice from Sam Foley set pieces before Ajay Leitch Smith scored a belter of a third to wrap up the points.
Previous meetings between the sides haven’t exactly been plentiful, but have seen a majority of results go Yeovil’s way.
In 2007, a 2-0 away win saw Aaron Davies score twice. That win came after two draws (0-0 and 1-1) and a Bradford win 1-0 in the only previous league encounters.
That previous form in the head to heads should hopefully stand the side in good stead.
With new faces and a hunger to get out of the relegation zone, the only thing missing is you!
Tickets for the fixture are available right up until kick off from all the usual outlets, the easiest option will be to click HERE for access to the online ticketing facility.
You can choose your seat and book in advance saving both time and money in the process. If you are collecting tickets on the match day, please allow an extra few minutes for collection and bring the ID you require.
Survival is the aim of the season now and that begins this Saturday, come along to Huish Park and be part of it!
Bradford City
Famous Fans: Cast members from Emmerdale and Hollyoaks, including Jennifer Metcalfe. Snooker player Joe Johnson and the Dalai Lama no less gave the Bantams his blessing during their League Cup run a couple of years ago.
A Foot in Both Camps: Matty Dolan, Ryan Dickson, Tommy Doherty, Ritchie Jones, Luke Oliver, Ben Roberts and Kelly Youga, remember him?
Did you know: Bradford saw off bids from Glasgow and Wolverhapton to be crowned the Curry Capital of Britain.
