Tuesday night’s EFL Trophy game against Newcastle United Under-21s probably won’t carry quite the same excitement as Saturday’s win at Luton, but it could still be a very useful evening for Graham Alexander.
City begin their Northern Group C campaign at Valley Parade against a Newcastle side who have already made a strong start in the competition, coming from behind to beat York City 3–1 in their opening group game. They then lost 2–0 to Leeds United U21s in Premier League 2 on Saturday, so this is still a young side capable of causing problems rather than simply a chance to hand out minutes.
For Bradford, though, the biggest attraction is the opportunity to use the squad.
This feels like a night for Jake Beesley
I’d start Jake Beesley.
He’s still waiting for his first Bradford City goal, despite being Alexander’s regular league striker, and a home game against an Under-21 side feels like exactly the sort of opportunity where you’d want him on the pitch.
Beesley’s contribution so far has been better than a simple zero in the goals column suggests. He has an assist in League One and has played an important role in how City have set up, but strikers ultimately want goals and you imagine one would do him the world of good.
There’s also less reason than normal to worry about protecting him for the weekend. Bradford’s scheduled league game against Barnsley on Saturday has been postponed, meaning there is a decent recovery period before the next league fixture.
Give him an hour, try to get him into good positions and hopefully let him leave Valley Parade with a goal and a little extra confidence.
A chance for the rest of the squad
The cup win at Leyton Orient already showed the value of these games.
Alexander made major changes that night and Bradford still came away with a 3–1 win, with Will Swan, Stephen Humphrys and Nick Powell all scoring. Kieran Morgan and Henry Cartwright also got valuable minutes in midfield.
Tuesday should offer another chance for some of those players.
Morgan is the obvious one. We’ve already discussed whether he could eventually play alongside Callum Connolly and allow Antoni Sarcevic to operate further forward, so another proper competitive start would tell us a little more.
There should also be opportunities for the likes of Humphrys, Swan, Powell, Cartwright, Reece Welch and Corey O’Keeffe depending on how Alexander chooses to balance the side.
That’s the important part. There’s a difference between rotating and simply putting eleven strangers together. Alexander will still want enough experience in the team to make sure the younger and less-used players actually get a useful game.
Newcastle shouldn’t be taken lightly
It would be easy to see “Newcastle U21” and expect Bradford to win comfortably, but this competition has shown plenty of times that academy sides can cause senior teams problems.
Newcastle proved exactly that at York, recovering from an early goal down to win 3–1. They are one of the Category One academy sides invited into the competition and will be looking to qualify from the group for the first time since 2018/19.
There’s also a recent warning for Bradford. Newcastle’s youngsters came to Valley Parade in this competition in 2024, drew 2–2 and then beat City on penalties.
So yes, rotate. But don’t treat it like a friendly.
Bantams Unfiltered verdict
This feels like one of those games where Bradford can get several things out of the evening at once.
Give important players a rest, get proper minutes into those who have been waiting for opportunities, give Morgan another chance to show what he can do and, ideally, get Beesley on the scoresheet.
Winning the game matters, particularly with Newcastle already sitting on three points in the group, but there are bigger benefits too.
If City can come through it with a victory, no injuries and a few fringe players giving Alexander something to think about, it will have been a very worthwhile Tuesday night.
And if Beesley walks off with his first Bradford goal?
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