Bradford City and Millwall meet at Wembley this weekend to contest the League One Play Off Final.
Bradford’s route to the Final this year saw them establish themselves in the Play Off spots and they didn’t fall out of the top five from late August onwards – consistency was a watchword as they drew more games than anyone else in the league to nigh on almost always improve their points tally and they only lost seven games – only bettered by Champions Sheffield United.
Millwall started their campaign slowly after missing out on Play Off promotion at Wembley the previous season and found themselves just above the bottom four as late as mid October. However a good turn in form, more than boosted by a 16 match unbeaten run pulled them back into contention and they secured their spot with a four three victory over Bristol Rovers on the final day.
Season Stats:
Bradford City – fifth – 79 points
Scored 62 – conceded 43
Finished the campaign unbeaten at Valley Parade with 11 win and 12 draws.
Millwall – sixth – 73 points
Scored 66 – conceded 57
Seven games in February negotiated without conceding a single goal
Bradford gave themselves a one nil advantage in the first leg of the Play Off Semi Finals against Fleetwood Town, and a second leg scoreless draw saw them through to Wembley.
Millwall played out a scoreless draw in their first leg Semi Finals against Scunthorpe United, but despite going a goal down in the second leg, they took a three two victory to see them through to Wembley for the second successive year.
In the normal league encounters between the teams, September’s tie at The Den saw a one all draw with Byron Webster’s own goal cancelling out Joe Martin’s first half effort.
The tie at Valley Parade four months later saw the same one all scoreline with Millwall gaining the advantage through Lee Gregory before James Meredith tied things up again ten minutes later.
Since the maiden meeting of the teams back in 1914, draws lead the way with 18 taking place, but Millwall have the better win loss head to head with 17 wins to Bradford’s 10 across all competitions.
Ironically both teams met in the 2015/16 Play Off runs, at the Semi Final stage where Millwall had a three one advantage from the first leg, taking a one all draw in the second leg.
The Final takes place at Wembley on Saturday May 20 with a 3pm kick off and Bradford fans are in the West End of the stadium, with Millwall taking seats in the East End.
Kit Colours:
Bradford City:
Shirt: Claret and amber diagonal stripes
Shorts: Black
Socks: Black
Millwall:
Shirt: Navy and white stripes
Shorts: White
Socks: White
Match Officials:
Referee: Simon Hooper
Assistant Referees: Nick Hopton and Neil Davies
Fourth Official: Chris Kavanagh
Reserve Assistant Referee: Nick Greenhalgh
The national anthem will be performed by Faryl Smith and the game will be screened live by Sky Sports.
