Grimsby Town will host Bradford City at Blundell Park in a battle at the bottom in League Two at 7pm on Tuesday night.

The Mariners ended their five-game winless streak on the weekend as they defeated fellow strugglers Scunthorpe United. 19-year-old defender Matthew Pollock's first-half goal was enough to settle the sides.

Caretaker manager Mark Trueman was in delight this weekend. In his second match for the Bantams, they came away with all three points in a 1-0 win against a tough Cambridge United - Bradford's first win in eight games.

With many clubs having played 19 games this season, this will be the two sides game in hand on others as they've both only played 18. Three points for either side will be massive in their quest to stay away from a relegation battle.

  • Team News

For the hosts, defender Luke Waterfall returns to the side after his red card in the defeat to Southend United. While James Hanson remains out for the Mariners.

Owen Windsor has returned to West Brom early from his loan at Grimsby. Sean Scannell has tested positive for Covid-19.

The Bantams remain without Zeli Ismail who is injured for around three months. Ben Richards-Everton remains a doubt.

  • Predicted lineups

Grimsby Town:

Russell; Hendrie, Waterfall, Pollock, Preston, Morais, Spokes, Clifton, Edwards, Gibson, Jackson.

Bradford City:

O'Donnell; Cousin-Dawson, P.O'Connor, A.O'Connor, Wood, Watt, Clarke, Sutton, Cooke, Pritchard, Novak.

  • Ones to watch

Welsh midfielder Harry Clifton has proven to be an incredibly versatile player for the Mariners, he's now in his fifth season at the club and he's still only 22.

He put in a fantastic showing on the weekend as he filled in at right-back to cover Lee Hendrie, we may seem him back in midfield against the Bantams or can he provide the consistency again at the back?

32 years of age and still deadly at finding the net, Lee Novak is the one to watch for the Bantams. He has provided four league goals in 10 games so far this season. Novak will certainly be a tricky customer for the Grimsby defence.

  • Previous meetings

Grimsby have failed in eight attempts in League Two to beat Bradford since 2007. Four matches have ended in a draw, and four in a Bradford victory.

Last season was the first time the sides had met in nine years, with both fixtures ending in a 1-1 draw.

The game is not selected for television and is available exclusively on iFollow.

  • Manager's thoughts

Grimsby manager Ian Holloway has had a few words to say on his side in the press conference ahead of the fixture: "It’s a home game and I want the same sort of fight again. I know what shape they are.

"We are going to have to go about our business in a very determined and professional manner."

Bantams assistant caretaker manager Conor Sellars spoke to the club media stating: "We were all working yesterday to make sure we had a clear plan for how we approach Grimsby, and how we can beat them.

We have a lot of games coming up and must be prepared for them."

VAVEL Logo
About the author