Xavier Simons set for Bradford's 1-0 Bolton second leg
xavier simons matters here because Bradford City go into Thursday’s League One play-off second leg trailing Bolton Wanderers 1-0 and still needing to force a final. Graham Alexander said he will not change the home approach that helped Bradford win 15 of 23 league games at home this season.
Alexander keeps Bradford's plan
“There's clarity - we have to win the game,” Alexander said before the tie. That is the business end of the evening for Bradford: one goal down, at home, and under pressure to turn a narrow first-leg defeat into the kind of result that keeps promotion alive.
“The way we have approached all of our home games for the past two years is 'we have to win'. We've never gone into a game targeting any less than that,” he said. “We're not going to change. I don't think I'm giving any secrets out there, we're not just going to come up with some masterplan. I don't want it to be about our opponents, I want it to be about us.”
Bradford's home numbers
Bradford's 15 wins in 23 home games this season give Alexander a straightforward reason to keep the same model. He has been manager since November 2023, and the club have already shown they can respond in a promotion chase: last season they went up from League Two after a last-minute win over Fleetwood.
That history is the complication inside the current push. Bradford are now chasing successive promotions for the first time in the club's history, so the Bolton tie is not just another knockout fixture; it is the one that decides whether this run keeps moving or stops one step short.
Pointon and Wright options
Bobby Pointon could return after missing the past five games with an ankle injury, giving Bradford a midfield option at exactly the point they need more control in the tie. Tyreik Wright is also in contention to start after coming on as a substitute in the first leg, which gives Alexander at least two possible changes without abandoning the structure he has built at home.
“What the fans have bought into and played their part, we've seen it so many times over the past two seasons,” Alexander said. “I know they are going to be there for the players and we're looking forward to it.” For Bradford, the cleanest route is also the most obvious one: lean on the home record, get the first goal, and make Bolton defend a game they only need to protect.
