Colchester United travel to Bradford City this weekend looking to bounce back from last weekend’s home defeat to Northampton Town.
The U’s were only narrowly beaten by the Cobblers at the JobServe Community Stadium with Ross Embleton in interim charge, as a first-half Louis Appere goal downed the home side.
The Head of Recruitment will be in the dugout once again, but new boss Ben Garner will be in the stands watching on ahead of taking the reins on Monday morning.
Junior Tchamadeu returns from his two game suspension and could be in contention to return to the starting line-up at Valley Parade; Ross Embleton made two changes to the eleven last weekend with Matt Jay and Tom Hopper also returning to the fray.
The Opposition
Promotion-chasing Bradford City will be aiming to continue their good run of form on Saturday afternoon after picking up three points in four of their last five outings (four wins, one loss).
Mark Hughes’ side collected another win on Tuesday evening, sweeping Gillingham aside with a 2-0 win at Priestfield – a three points that boosted them back into the top seven, now sitting just four points behind third-placed Carlisle United in sixth.
Boasting the top scorer in the division, Andy Cook (pictured below) has netted eighteen times for Bradford City so far; 45% of the Bantams’ goals have come from him in the league. The striker has hit form in the last few weeks with five goals in his last six outings, including one against Gillingham on Tuesday evening.
Richie Smallwood starred in that win in Kent, with a goal and an assist – the Bantams’ captain has made thirty-six appearances so far this season after a summer move from Championship side Hull City, one of the highest tallies in the league.
Further back, Harry Lewis has been a mainstay between the sticks for Saturday’s hosts. The twenty-five-year-old goalkeeper has kept thirteen clean sheets in the league so far – only one player has kept more (Lawrence Vigouroux, Leyton Orient).
And contributing to a settled defence, Matty Platt has been integral to Bradford’s success this season. Another summer arrival, Platt joined from Barrow and has played thirty-six times becoming a regular the back four at Valley Parade.
Last Time We Met
The U's picked up their first win of the season against the Bantams earlier in the season courtesy of Tom Eastman's ninteith minute header. Wayne Brown's side battled hard against the promotion hopefuls to pick up a valuable three points.
Ticket Info
Tickets are available to purchase from the U's Ticket Office until 2pm on Friday 3rd March. After then, they will be available to purchase on the day from the hosts with prices increasing.
Click HERE for more information on tickets.
iFollow
If you can't make it to the game on Saturday, you can keep up with it via iFollow. Audio Passes (£2.50 each) are available to everyone and Video Passes (£10 each) are available to fans outside the UK. Click HERE to see what options are available for you.