Bradford vs Charlton Predictions

When they went two up in the 64^th minute away at Blackpool last weekend, it looked for all to see that the Bantams were on their way to recording an excellent victory, though as their hosts scored not once, not twice, but thrice inside the final ten minutes of the match, David Hopkin’s side left Bloomfield Road with nothing to show for their efforts. After such a disappointing result, Bradford will be hoping to regain the winning thread now back in front of a home crowd.

The Bantams are in a bit of a rut at present; they’re conceding far too many goals, which in turn is preventing them from gaining positive results. Even when taking a two-goal lead against Blackpool last time out, defensive frailties, prevented David Hopkin’s men from taking even a point. Saturday’s hosts have now lost five of their six League One matches this season, conceding a disappointing eleven goals in the process.

There are a few teams in the division that have been hard done by, though Bradford aren’t really one of them. They’re not doing enough going forward, while they’ve struggled massively to keep things tight at the back, as the fact that they’ve accumulated the second fewest expected goals for and the fact that they’ve conceded the third most shows.

In contrast, Charlton have been nice and steady. They’ve not been flash, while they too have struggled to get things going offensively, but the Addicks have looked far more solid than Saturday’s hosts. After securing a big win away at Southend in their penultimate match, Lee Bowyer’s men came out on top against Wycombe last time out.

As touched on above, the Addicks, who currently sit in a respectable eight in the expected goals against table, have looked reasonably solid from a defensive point of view, while they’re starting make a habit of capitalising in the final third, as each of their last matches have shown. Against a Bradford side that continues to flounder defensively, a repeat of either of their last two efforts would likely see Bowyer’s men get a positive result.

From a betting point of view, Charlton are very easy to back, especially at the prices. Even as the favourites, the visitors look a touch overpriced. Bowyer’s men have simply outperformed their hosts in every area. They rank better in terms of expected goals for, expected goals against, shots on target, shots on target conceded, goals for and goals conceded. Backing the visitors to extend their winning run is the way to go ahead of the clash at Valley Parade.