Wycombe will be hitting the road for this weekend as they turn their attention to the FA Cup – a competition that has been somewhat unkind to Wanderers in recent seasons.

But as we’ve seen in the EFL Trophy, Matt Bloomfield is not putting out teams with ‘fringe players’, as he wants to win every game he has.

So what can we expect when the Chairboys take on Bradford City on Saturday?

Lowdown on Wanderers

Wycombe might be four games without a win, but the performances have not shown that Wanderers are a side on the slide.

Three draws from the last four, along with a defeat, have seen the Adams Park team drop from eighth to 10th but there are many signs of encouragement.

The 2-2 draw against Peterborough, on paper, should have been a win for Wycombe if they had taken their chances, after going 2-0 down at home to Bolton to make it all square in the final 10 minutes, the ascendency was with Bloomfield’s boys.

However, going for that winner cost them as they would go on to lose 4-2.

Then, two more draws would follow against Oxford and Cambridge respectively, and in the former, Wycombe should have left with all three points if it wasn’t for referee Seb Stockbridge.

The less said about that officiating performance, the better.

Whilst the competition is different, the mentality will no doubt be the same as Bloomfield will be keen to end Wycombe’s horrific recent FA Cup record, with one win in their last eight.

Lowdown on Bradford

City were tipped for promotion with Mark Hughes at the helm, but his departure last month with Bradford sitting just above the League Two relegation zone has made it a frustrating season for the Bantams so far.

The club do have some very decent players in their squad such as Andy Cook, former Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City striker Matt Derbyshire, and of course, Alex Pattison.

The latter spent two seasons with Wycombe between 2019 and 2021 where he played 30 times and failed to score.

A move to Harrogate Town followed and despite playing in the centre of midfield, Pattison would gain a reputation of notching up with important goals.

This includes scoring three in his first two games for the club in his first season and then bagging five in 11 the next season.

His goal-scoring attributes have transformed the one-time Wanderer from a box-to-box midfielder to a deep play-making number 10.

Head-2-Head

Games: 15

Wycombe Wanderers wins: Eight

Draws: One

Bradford City wins: Six

Last five meetings

2018/19: Wycombe Wanderers 0-0 Bradford City (League Two)

2018/19: Bradford City 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers (League Two)

2012/13: Bradford City 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers (League Two)

2012/13: Wycombe Wanderers 0-3 Bradford City (League Two)

2010/11: Bradford City 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers (League Two)

Miscellaneous

  • The referee for the match will be Declan Bourne
  • He has taken charge of three Bradford games in his career, with the Bantams winning one, losing one and drawing one
  • He has also taken charge of one Wanderers fixture
  • This was the 2-2 draw against Stevenage in the League Cup back in August 2021 which Wycombe would won on penalties
  • This will be the first meeting between the two sides in the FA Cup at Valley Parade
  • The last encounter between the two teams in this competition came in January 1997 which Bradford won 2-0 at Adams Park
  • Wycombe have only won one of their last eight FA Cup ties – this was against Preston North End in the 2020/21 edition 4-1 at Adams Park
  • Additionally, the Chairboys have been knocked out at the first stage of the world’s oldest football competition in four of the last five seasons  
  • Bradford are one of the 44 teams to have won the FA Cup, as they were victorious in the 1911 edition of the competition
  • They defeated Newcastle United in a replay with Jimmy Speirs scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory
  • Spires would go down in City folklore, but just six years later, he died at the age of 31 after he voluntarily put himself forward to fight for the British against the Germans in WWI