Southend United vs Bradford City preview: How to watch, kick-off time, team news, predicted lineups and ones to watch

Southend United will host Bradford City this coming Tuesday at 19:00 BST, as the Bantams will look to extend their unbeaten streak to seven.

Since Mark Trueman’s takeover in December, Bradford have looked rejuvenated and back to their enticing ways. Playing exciting football, controlling the ball and are yet to be thwarted in the New Year.

Meanwhile for the home side, Southend have won just one of their last four outings and remain bottom of the division, but Mark Molesley has bolstered his Shrimps side with the addition of Tyler Cordner from Bournemouth.

Team news

On loan Arsenal midfielder James Olayinka will be out for the next month due to ankle injury.

Greg Halford, Jason Demetriou and Elvis Bwonomo will be touch and go up until kick-off, whilst Alan McCormack looks set to miss out after picking up an injury against Mansfield Town.

Former Bradford midfielder Timothee Dieng was sent off in Southend’s last match and will therefore be missing.

The Bantams have a number of long-term absentees, with Reece Staunton, Zeli Ismail, Bryce Hossanah, Richard O’Donnell and Harry Pritchard look set to miss out.

Top scorer Lee Novak will also be unavailable as he awaits results on a scan.

Predicted lineups

Southend United:

Oxley; Cordner, White, Hobson, Hart, Taylor, Nathaniel-George, Howard, Hackett-Fairchild, Akinola, Acquah.

Bradford City:

Hornby, Cousin-Dawson, P O’Connor, Canavan, Wood, Watt, Sutton, Clarke, Stevens, Cooke, Rowe.

Ones to watch

Simeon Akinola

A tricky, attacking player who has often offered Southend a glimmer of hope in some dreary times this season, Simeon Akinola shouldn’t be underestimated on Tuesday night.

The former Braintree Town player was able to score against league leaders Cambridge United, something the entire Bradford side failed to do on Saturday, and has adopted a new role under Molesley in spearheading the attack, but also dropping back into a false nine sort of role which has heightened his abilities.

Danny Rowe

Whilst it was Sam Hornby who received the Man of the Match on Saturday, the City faithful will direct their attention to their new striker in the form of Danny Rowe.

Rowe will be expected to net his first for the club tomorrow night, and already looked hungry to do so at the weekend. His first shot on goal injured the Cambridge goalkeeper thanks to its raw power, but he will be hoping this time it can blister the net; not the goalkeeper’s hands.

Previous meeting

In the reverse fixture earlier on in the season, Southend were the last team Stuart McCall was able to defeat in the league before his eventual sacking over one month later. The Bantams were victorious by a 3-0 deficit, in a largely one-sided game thanks to goals from Callum Cooke, Elliot Watt and Pritchard.