Bradford City face Millwall in the League One Play-off final at Wembley on Saturday (3pm) in what should be a tense encounter.
The teams could not be separated during the regular season, drawing 1-1 at the Den in September and again at Valley Parade in January, with the away side taking the lead on each occasion.
Bradford ended the campaign in fifth place, six points ahead of the Lions and with a superior goal difference (+19 as opposed to +10), though did succumb to Millwall in the play-off semi-finals last year, going down 3-1 at home before drawing the away leg 1-1.
Millwall will be keen to extinguish the memory of last year’s final, in which they lost 3-1 to Barnsley after conceding in only the second minute and finding themselves 2-0 down just 17 minutes later.
Manager Neil Harris says his team has “used the disappointment of last year’s Final defeat as an inspiration all season”.
And they’ve done well to bounce back from that disappointment
Especially after they came from 1-0 down to beat Scunthorpe 3-1 in the away leg of the semi-final, after drawing 0-0 at home.
Much has been made of Bradford’s poor recent away record – a run of just one victory in six games – but matches on neutral territory are a different matter.
They have only featured in the play-off finals twice before and won both games to nil, overcoming Notts County 2-0 in 1996 to secure promotion to the old Division One (now the Championship).
In more recent years, they put three past Northampton Town in 2013 to gain promotion to League Two.
Influential striker Alex Jones, who has 15 goals to his name this season, missed both legs of the semi-final defeat of Fleetwoood Town with a hamstring injury and his future remains doubtful.
Millwall have failed to keep a clean sheet away from the Den since a 0-0 draw at Oldham in February and, with only League One runners-up Bolton conceding less than the stingy Bradford defence this season, the value could lie with a City victory, with 2-0 the predicted scoreline.
League One Play-off Final Odds
Correct Score
Bradford 2 v 0 Millwall (12/1)
For more League One odds, take a look at Grosvenor Sports football betting.
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