Notts County will smell blood after recent Bradford City development | OneFootball

Bradford will be without club captain Richie Smallwood for Thursday's huge promotion clash, it could hand Notts a crucial advantage.

Notts County must use an unexpected Bradford City setback to their advantage in their huge promotion ‘six pointer’ on Thursday night.

Stuart Maynard’s side travel to Valley Parade to take on the Bantams, who boast the division’s strongest home record. The West Yorkshire outfit have been drawing in crowds of over 22,000 in recent weeks and represent one of the toughest tests the Magpies have faced all season.

However, Notts may have been handed renewed hope of getting a result by the fact that Bradford’s club captain, Richie Smallwood, will be unavailable on Thursday night due to a suspension.

The midfielder was sent off after just 14 minutes on Saturday afternoon, with Bradford going on to lose 5-4 at Swindon Town.

He has been an ever-present for Graham Alexander’s men so far this term and his absence may hand Notts a crucial edge in the game.

Smallwood’s suspension could play a huge role in the game

With Bradford’s fortunes altering so drastically in a matter of just a few minutes on Saturday, the magnitude of Thursday night’s clash has suddenly increased again for both sides.

With Notts losing to Salford City on Friday night, it looked extremely likely that they would fall even further adrift of the top three, but with Bradford falling to defeat in stoppage time, coupled with all three of Walsall, Wimbledon and Doncaster dropping points, the Magpies remain just four points off the automatic promotion spots.

Smallwood was sent off early into proceedings at Swindon’s County Ground at the weekend, meaning he will now be facing a period on the sidelines. The Bantams’ captain is yet to miss a single league game so far this season, but will now miss three crucial clashes against Notts, Chesterfield and Doncaster over the next few weeks.

The former Rotherham United and Hull City man is a vital player for Alexander’s side, and his combative nature and calm passing make him a commanding presence in the middle of the park.

With Smallwood out of the picture for Thursday night, Notts have the perfect opportunity to dominate the midfield battle and really impose themselves on the game.

They have rarely been at their controlling best in recent weeks, but with the energy of George Abbott and the composure of Matty Palmer, they certainly have the capacity to dictate the play from the middle of the park.

The prospect of a trip to Valley Parade has been a daunting one for almost every team this season. From their 21 home games so far, Doncaster and Tranmere are the only two sides to have bested Bradford and left with all three points.

Nevertheless, Notts’ recent record against the Bantams is strong, having won all three encounters since their return to the Football League, and all by a margin of two goals or more.

It’s undoubtedly a big ask, but if they can continue that record once again on Thursday night, depending on the other results across the Easter weekend, it could get them right back into contention for the top three.

Notts cannot really afford to lose

One thing that Notts can’t really afford, is to come away from Valley Parade with nothing to show for their efforts.

With two full programmes of fixtures coming in quick succession, we have seen the Easter weekend be pivotal in the EFL on so many occasions, and that could certainly prove to be the case in League Two this term.

Handily for the Magpies, play-off chasing Salford played out a 1-1 draw with Doncaster on Tuesday night, a result that keeps them just four points off the automatic promotion places, but also maintains their gap to the group of teams chasing the play-offs.

But, if they were to fall to defeat at Bradford, they could find themselves seven points adrift of the top three by the time they take on Cheltenham on Easter Monday.

If that scenario was to play out, Maynard’s side could effectively wave goodbye to their hopes of automatic promotion, with a gap of seven points logically unsurmountable in the space of just three games.

In a worst-case scenario, a loss could even see them level of points with Colchester, who are currently sat just outside the play-offs, by the time this weekend comes around.

With League Two as unpredictable as ever, it’s hard to really judge exactly what Notts will need if they are to finish in the top three. However, you get the sense that they will likely need an absolute minimum of three wins from their final four games, as well as ideally avoiding defeat at Valley Parade.