First Round – Bradford vs Hull – Sport Grill

Bradford City welcome Hull City to Valley Parade in the opening round of 2022-23 Carabao Cup.

Victory would see Bradford advance to the Second Round for the second time in the last three seasons, whilst Hull are looking to avoid a second consecutive exit at this stage.

Team News

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Bradford have no fresh injury concerns to report after Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Barrow in League Two, as Kian Harratt (suspension), Jamie Walker (knee) and Emmanuel Osadebe (leg) remain absent.

Hull could welcome Ryan Longman back into contention after he missed their opening two matches with an unspecified injury.

Manager, Shota Arveladze could hand several fringe players a start as he looks to rest key players ahead of Saturday’s home match against Norwich.

Brandon Fleming (foot), Nathan Baxter (finger), Greg Docherty (quad), Tyler Smith (hamstring), Dogukan Sinik (calf) and James Scott (shin) remain absent.

Stat Attack

• This is Bradford’s first-ever League Cup meeting against Hull, although the Bantams have won two of five previous meetings in all cup competitions (W2, L3).
• Hull have won one of their two previous visits to Bradford in cup competitions (W1, L1), winning 2-1 in Fourth Round of 1988-89 FA Cup.
• Both teams have scored in four of their last previous cup meetings in all competitions – with exception of a 2-0 away win for Bradford at Hull in Second Round of 1961-62 FA Cup.
• Bradford have won two of their last five League Cup ties played at home dating back to a 3-1 victory over Aston Villa in first leg of their 2012-13 semi-final in January 2013 (W2, L3).
• Defeat would see Hull eliminated at this stage for the second consecutive season – for the first time since suffering four consecutive First Round exits between 2002-03 & 05-06 seasons.

Prediction

This season marks a full decade since Bradford’s memorable fairytale run to the Final and they coincidentally are back in League Two just like in that same season, yet they’re now under the experienced management of Mark Hughes so will look to cause a cupset.

Maintaining their focus defensively though is going to be crucial after Saturday’s defensive mishaps at Barrow, which saw a comeback draw twice slip through their grasp and can’t be repeated here if they’re to stand any chance at progressing to the next round.

Hull meanwhile were outplayed at Preston in a sloppy second half yet managed a clean sheet through fantastic defending, although they’re set to rotate their squad so it will be interesting to see how the fringe players handle this tricky away tie.

Should they indeed rise to the occasion alongside the returning Mallik Wilks, I can see a routine away win coming otherwise this could well see a cupset via penalties if Bradford can find their best quality after a shaky start to their season.

Prediction: Bradford City 1-2 Hull City