Daniel Wales and Charles Hague-Jones discuss Bradford City’s final game of the season.
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00:00Now, looking at Bradford City's form across League Two,
00:06obviously, three teams are going to be promoted.
00:08Port Vale and Doncaster have been confirmed that the title race
00:12will go down to the final day.
00:13An incredible situation there.
00:15But also going down to the final day, Bradford and Walsall in contention
00:20to be that third man to go up.
00:23Now, obviously, if you look at the form guide,
00:25Bradford have really, really struggled.
00:27But then so, Walsall, I mean, both sides have really, really tailed off
00:30as far back as February, really.
00:33Bradford have been really relying on that form, you know,
00:36before Christmas and, you know, the start of the year.
00:39But then after sort of, you know, early March,
00:42they've really, really tailed off.
00:43They're in some great runs throughout the season,
00:46especially the very, very start of 2025.
00:49But for Bradford, this goes down to the final day.
00:51It's a situation where, you know,
00:54it's not often that you want to actually avoid the playoffs
00:56when you're in the top few of the table.
00:59But this is the situation they're now in.
01:01They're on the brink of automatic promotion.
01:04Back to League One, we're going to have a word with Dan.
01:08The Bradford experts sort of mention this situation
01:12going into the final day.
01:13They obviously need to match or better Walsall's result
01:16to ensure promotion.
01:18Dan, just give us a rundown.
01:19What's going on?
01:20What's the situation?
01:21What's the feeling like for Bradford in terms of this?
01:24And, you know, the ultimate goal promotion.
01:26It's a massive final day for Bradford City.
01:32Well, Charles, it certainly is a huge day for Bradford City
01:35as they look to finally confirm their promotion
01:37back to League One after a few years away
01:40from England's third tier.
01:42They've had chances, but not taken them.
01:44They, of course, got themselves into this promotion picture
01:47over the space of a few weeks, sort of after the turn of the year,
01:51a few months, you could even argue,
01:52where they just kept on winning and picking up results.
01:55And at one stage, we're even top of the League Two table.
01:58But then a little bit of illness, a little bit of injury
02:00has unfortunately impacted them a lot.
02:03And they've had a few not-so-good results.
02:06Been on the end of some thrilling games,
02:08but coming out the wrong side of them, unfortunately.
02:10But they are still in pole position to go up automatically
02:14and avoid the playoffs.
02:15Playoffs is their worst-case scenario now,
02:17but they are still in pole position, as I say.
02:20They are on 75 points, with Walsall in fourth on 74 points.
02:25Port Vale and Doncaster, they're already up.
02:27Of course, Doncaster beating Bradford earlier on,
02:30just on Saturday gone, actually, which confirmed their promotion.
02:34So Bradford, on the last day,
02:36as they take on Fleetwood Town at home at Valley Parades,
02:39they just need to match Walsall's result
02:41because, of course, a win would mean that they can't be caught.
02:46If Walsall were to draw, Bradford just need to draw.
02:48And if Walsall were to be beaten, Bradford could also afford to be beaten as well.
02:52They just need to match their result
02:53because, of course, they have that one-point advantage.
02:56Of course, they'd rather win Bradford
02:58and make things easier for themselves.
02:59And they do have, of course, a fantastic record at Valley Parade.
03:03Some of their support they've had in recent weeks there
03:05with the home attendances and some of the displays
03:08the fans have put out in the pre-match build-up.
03:11It's been, nothing short of phenomenal
03:12and has really spurred them on to some really important victories.
03:15And they're going to need that again this weekend
03:17as they take on Fleetwood.
03:18A side who are just middling about
03:20in sort of the middle of the League 2 table.
03:23Not really a threat to anything.
03:25Of course, they're the teams where you think,
03:27are they on the beach by this point?
03:29Or, in fact, are they playing with a newfound freedom?
03:32Because, of course, they can't go up
03:33and they can't go down either.
03:34So, they're just going to finish in sort of the middle of the pack.
03:37So, it's a hard one to judge.
03:39Bradford certainly have the quality
03:39and they certainly have the experience of winning a lot this season,
03:43especially at home, to get themselves over the line.
03:45But whether they do that, that's another matter.
03:48Of course, one eye will be kept on Walls.
03:50So, I'm sure by many of the supporters in Valley Parade
03:53to see how they're doing.
03:54Because, of course, if Bradford were to draw
03:55and Walsall were to win,
03:57it would be Walsall who took advantage.
03:59You know, around the halfway stage of the season,
04:01they were sat just above mid-table,
04:05not really going anywhere.
04:06But, Graham Alexander inspired them to
04:08just a fantastic winning run
04:11and has got them into this position.
04:13As I say, yes, they've had some frailties
04:16over the last couple of weeks,
04:17but they're still very much in them
04:19with a shot of going up automatically
04:20and get themselves back into League One
04:22where a club of perhaps their stature,
04:25of course, you can't say any club deserves to be anywhere.
04:28But certainly their fans have shown
04:30that they perhaps could be
04:32and should be higher up in the football pyramid
04:34given what they could bring to a higher tier.
04:37But that, of course, depends on what goes on on the pitch.
04:40So, it's all up to Bradford now.