On September 24, 2025, Newcastle will face Bradford City in the Round of 32 of the English Football League Cup. The match will start at 20:45 Central European Time. Let’s explore the teams’ offensive capabilities and consider the potential for goals in this game.
Newcastle
Newcastle has had a challenging start to the season, with only one win in their six official matches—a 1-0 home victory against Wolverhampton. They have drawn three times and lost twice. In their latest Premier League match, Newcastle drew 0-0 against Bournemouth, placing them 13th in the league with six points from six games. Their Champions League journey also began with a 1-2 home loss to Barcelona.
St. James’ Park is known as a stronghold for Newcastle, and they will aim to showcase this once again in the cup match. The teams last met in 2000 while competing in the Premier League. Newcastle has won all five of their recent home games against Bradford.
Bradford City
Bradford City gained promotion last season by finishing third in League Two and has started well in League One. They have lost only once in all competitions, which was a 1-3 defeat against Doncaster, while achieving nine wins and two draws. Currently sitting at the top of the table with 20 points, they have scored 17 goals and conceded 11. Their cup journey has been impressive, knocking out Blackburn and defeating Stoke City 3-0 away.
However, Bradford has had a tough record against Newcastle, not having won against them since 1999.
Probable Line-ups
- Newcastle: Pope, Botman, Burn, Thiaw, Livramento, Willock, Miley, Tonali, Hall, Murphy, Woltemade.
- Bradford City: Walker, Toure, Baldwin, Pennington, T. Wright, Power, Lee, Nyufvill, Poynton, Sarcevic, Swan.
Interesting Facts and Head-to-Head
- Newcastle has not won 13 of their last 14 matches.
- Newcastle has lost 3 of their last 4 home games.
- Bradford has won 5 of their last 6 matches.
- 4 of Bradford’s last 5 games have had over 3.5 goals.
- Both teams have scored in 9 of Bradford’s last 10 matches.
Match Prediction: Newcastle vs Bradford City
Newcastle has had a rocky start to the season and faced a tough schedule. They will be eager to turn things around at home. On the other hand, Bradford is performing well in both the cup and League One. Given Newcastle’s need to stay strong at home, expect a good performance from them and possibly many goals. My prediction for this match is over 3 goals at odds of 1.55.