The EFL Trophy will be a welcome distraction for Sunderland as they seek a break from their troubles in League One. The defending champions face League Two strugglers Bradford City and will be confident of coming out on top.
Sunderland made a bright start to the season and at a point were challenging for automatic promotion in League One. However, they have found things difficult lately, losing their last three league matches while also suffering a 1-0 defeat to Mansfield Town in the FA Cup last Saturday.
Despite the defeat to Mansfield Town, Sunderland can still consider themselves a solid cup team. Lee Johnson’s men are the only non-Premier League team in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and have won their two matches in Group F of the EFL Trophy.
Having been on the road lately, Sunderland will be pleased to return to the Stadium of Light where they have won nine of their last 11 matches. They also claimed a 2-1 home victory over Manchester United U21 in their previous EFL Trophy fixture.
Bradford City are also having a rough time at the moment and travel to Sunderland with just one win from their last six matches across all competitions. They are in the bottom half of the table in League Two and were held to a 1-1 draw by Exeter City in the FA Cup first round last Saturday.
Things are just as bad for Bradford in the EFL Trophy as they have no chance of progressing from the group. They are bottom of the standings after suffering a pair of 3-0 defeats to Lincoln City and Manchester United U21 in their two matches.
A major problem for manager Derek Adams is Bradford’s form on their travels. They have claimed just one win from their last five away matches, suffering three defeats in that run.
How the bookies view it
Sunderland have the upper hand among the bookies at 4/6 with Vbet while an unlikely victory for Bradford City is priced at 15/4 by BetVictor. A draw is set at odds of 3/1 by Vbet.
Recent head to head
Sunderland often come out on top in this fixture and have won five of the last six matches against Bradford City. The last meeting between both teams was a 1-0 home victory for the Black Cats in a League One fixture back in 2018.
Players to watch
Ross Stewart has 10 goals in League One this season and will be the one to watch for Sunderland on Tuesday. The hosts have scored in their last five EFL Trophy fixtures and Stewart can ensure that run continues at 2/13 with Vbet.
Bradford City will look to Andrew Cook to provide the spark in attack having scored seven League Two goals this season. The striker has also found the net twice in his last four matches and could ensure the visitors get on the score sheet at 8/15 with Vbet.
Anything else catch the eye?
There have been over 2.5 goals on both of Sunderland’s matches in the EFL Trophy and SBK is offering 4/5 for a repeat on Tuesday. There were over 3.5 goals in Bradford’s last away fixture and a similar outcome is priced at 11/5 with Paddy Power.
Sunderland could be tipped to earn a win and over 2.5 goals at 6/4 with Skybet. The Black Cats have also seen BTTS in the second half of their two matches in the EFL Trophy and that run is likely to continue at 12/5 with SBK.
This EFL Trophy match between Sunderland and Bradford City will be played on Nov 9, 2021 and kick off at 19:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sunderland vs Bradford City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
Sunderland to win 2-1