Bradford City vs Doncaster Rovers: LIVE updates as Bantams skipper tips Rovers for promotion push
and live on Freeview channel 276
As many as 20,000 fans are expected at Valley Parade for the mouth-watering opening-day clash, which has been billed as ‘one the standout games of the season’.
Indeed, both sides would expect to be in the promotion mix at the end of the season. Today be the first test of their credentials.
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Hide AdSpeaking ahead of the clash, Bradford captain Richie Smallwood said: “It is a massive fixture for the league.
“It is two big clubs who should not really be in this division, and I think it is one of the standout games of the season. It will be one where we can put down a marker, which we want to do.
“We know they will be up there, so it would be nice to get a win.”
Doncaster will be backed by 2,000 travelling supporters in West Yorkshire.
Scroll down for live updates.
Bradford City vs Doncaster Rovers LIVE
Key Events
- Doncaster haven’t won on the opening day since the 2018/19 season
- Both sides tipped for promotion push - and each has tipped the other to compete this term
- Rovers beginning life back in the fourth tier for the first time since the 2016/17 campaign
No hard feelings from now ex-skipper Tom Anderson
Adam Clayton will wear the armband today with Tommy Rowe named club captain.
No hard feelings from Tom Anderson after being stripped of captaincy, Rovers say
Tom Anderson has no hard feelings about being stripped of the captaincy at Doncaster Rovers, according to his boss and the man tasked with replacing him.
Doncaster Rovers team news
The big question is whether the likes of Kyle Knoyle and Lee Tomlin will be fit enough to play this afternoon. Both could be big players for Rovers this season. Knoyle is expected to be fit despite playing just 30 minutes in pre-season, but Tomlin faces a race against time.
If the experienced playmaker is good to go, he will likely start just behind George Miller in attack.
Luke Molyneux, Reo Griffiths, Jon Taylor, Tom Anderson, Ben Close and Aidy Barlow are all expected to miss out.
Below is our predicted line-up.
Predicted Doncaster Rovers line-up for mouth-watering Bradford City clash
The wait is almost over. And what an opening game it promises to be.
And so it begins
There’s nothing quite like the start of a new football season and the boundless optimisim it brings.
Whoever you support - and regardless of what’s gone before - there’s always that feeling this could be your team’s year to achieve something special.
That will be no different for both Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers, who expect to compete for automatic promotion this season.
On paper this is a tricky opening day fixture for both sides. Rovers boss Gary McSheffrey speculated pre-match whether this could be a good time to play the Bantams with Mark Hughes possibly not yet aware of his best XI - especially with all the quality at his disposal - and the club’s 14 new arrivals still gelling.
Last weekend’s humbling 3-0 loss to Chesterfield suggests there’s some merit in McSheffrey’s argument. We’ll see whether he was right at around 5pm.