Bradford City could welcome defender Matt Pennington back to the squad for this weekend’s trip to Stevenage but will be without two key players.
The Bantams have enjoyed a phenomenal return to League One having earned promotion from League Two in May. Having lost just once all season, they currently sit third in the table and are just 1 point off leaders Cardiff City.
It is incredibly tight at the top though. Just 2 points separate the top six and Bradford failed to capitalise on then-leaders Stevenage’s defeat at Lincoln City with a 2-2 draw against Barnsley.
Huge Week Ahead
Graham Alexander takes his team to the Lamex Stadium on Saturday knowing that a win will see them return to the automatic promotion places. They then host Lincoln on Tuesday night, with the Imps sitting just 1 point behind in sixth.
A delicate finish from Stephen Humphrys on Saturday. 👏
Extended highlights can be watched on BantamsTV and YouTube now. 📺#BCAFC | Peckover Transport
— Bradford City AFC (@officialbantams) October 20, 2025
Alexander Issues Important Injury Update
Bradford were without the services of Pennington and striker Bobby Pointon on Saturday, whilst midfielder Alex Pattison came off injured in the first half. Ahead of the six-pointer, Alexander revealed that two will definitely not be involved on Saturday:
“Bobby (Pointon) has been out on the grass (on Wednesday) but non-competitive, a little bit of a passing drill but nothing further than that.
“Penno (Matt Pennington) was in the same group that came in out of training. Patto’s (Alex Pattison) not out on the grass.
“He’s still a bit sore but there’s nothing major there. That will just be a case of when he feels comfortable to be able to play full tilt.
“There’s no point in having him back at 60-70 per cent. His attributes are 100 per cent full throttle so we’ll give him the time to be that again.”
Graham Alexander has been previewing our trip to Stevenage with the local press. 🎙️#BCAFC | @RMA_Systems pic.twitter.com/E2NKfADbqR
— Bradford City AFC (@officialbantams) October 22, 2025
“Penno maybe, Bobby no. I think it’s too soon.
“We’ll only have one more training session before Saturday but Penno’s been in and out of training anyway. But that was Bobby’s first day back, so he won’t be available.”
Writer’s View
It is undoubtedly a blow to be without two key players in what is likely to be Bradford’s toughest away trip of the season so far. However, Graham Alexander has a decent squad to choose from and won’t be getting too concerned about his options.
Stevenage will provide a stern test, having won all 5 of their league games at the Lamex Stadium this season. They will also still be hurting from last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Lincoln City and know that they will slip out of the top two with a similar result. Alex Revell will be hoping to take advantage of the slight rotation in the Bantams squad.
