When Harrogate Town won promotion to the English Football League, Bradford City away was the fixture many fans were looking forward to most.
Harrogate are no strangers to the city, having recently played in the National League North against Bradford Park Avenue.
However, Bradford City’s 25,000 all-seater Valley Parade is worthy of a higher division and would have been a special day out for fans.
Instead, they will have to make do watching the game, which kicks off at 7.45 pm tonight, live on Sky Sports.
Muldoon set to return
Both clubs have five points so far, with Town having played one more game than their West Yorkshire rivals.
City beat Stevenage 2-1 in their last league fixture whilst Town’s good start to the season faltered when they went down last week 1-2 against Bolton Wanderers.
Town missed Jack Muldoon against Bolton but Simon Weaver has confirmed that the free-scoring forward is likely to return after recovering from a recent injury.
Weaver could give a start to experienced striker Jon Stead, who played for Bradford on loan in 2014/15.
He said:
“The fixtures do not come much bigger for us at this level. We are looking forward to it and have been doing since the fixtures were released.
“Bradford have an experienced manager who Paul Thirlwell knows very well in Stuart McCall, who is a club legend.
“We have looked at their games and they have some really experienced players, so it is sure to be a big challenge.”
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City manager Stuart McCall said he is looking forward to the game:
“Harrogate have started very well and are a good footballing side.
“They have two guys in Simon Weaver and his assistant Paul Thirlwell – who I know well having played with him at Sheffield United – who have done a fantastic job. We are really starting to see the emergence of the football club as a whole.
“They play some very good football and are a strong team. It is a match I am really looking forward to.”