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Burnley will head to Mbanq Valley Parade on Wednesday to take on Bradford City with an EFL Cup third-round place on the line.
The visitors won their first competitive game under Nicky Hayen to reach this stage but are winless in the Championship, while their hosts have won all three of their matches in 2026-27.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Bradford City vs Burnley key stats
- Bradford City have kept clean sheets in all three of their competitive matches in 2026-27.
- Bradford City have won both of their first two home matches of the season 2-0.
- Burnley's only competitive win under Nicky Hayen thus far came in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw against Notts County in the EFL Cup first round.
- Burnley won the last competitive H2H at Valley Parade in the 2003-04 Championship season.
Bradford City vs Burnley preview: Burnley to get up and running under Hayen?
Bradford City vs Burnley — Tale of the Tape
| Bradford City | vs | Burnley |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (League One) | Position | 18th (Championship) |
| 6 | Points | 1 |
| 3 | Goals For | 3 |
| 0 | Goals Against | 5 |
| 2 | Clean Sheets | 0 |
| 2nd | Home / Away Rank | 22nd |
Bradford City will bid to continue a perfect start to the 2026-27 season on Tuesday, when they return to EFL Cup action.
In the midst of a memorable spell under Graham Alexander, having won promotion from League Two in 2024-25 and finished fourth on their League One return last time around, going on to lose in the playoff semi-final, the Bantams set out for another promotion bid in the third tier this term.
They have won all three competitive games without conceding thus far, firstly meeting Rochdale in the EFL Cup first round and winning 2-0 before beating Peterborough United by the same scoreline in their league curtain-raiser with Macaulay Gillesphey and Nick Powell on the scoresheet.
A trip to Sheffield Wednesday then followed last time out, and Alexander's men continued their winning run with a 1-0 triumph in their first away outing, as Aden Baldwin scored the only goal early in the second half.
Likely to field a similar starting XI from that latest win, with Stephen Humphrys still ruled out, Bradford City will aim to take a major Championship scalp in their toughest test of the season so far to progress to the third round.
Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Yorkshire aiming to get back on track under new management, having had a slow start to life back in the second tier in the last two weeks.
After their Premier League relegation in 2025-26, Burnley turned to Nicky Hayen over the summer, tasking him with leading a charge back towards the top flight at the first time of asking, but they have not had a seamless start under the Belgian.
The Clarets did scrape past third-tier Notts County in the EFL Cup first round and their first competitive game under Hayen, drawing 1-1 in normal time thanks to Zian Flemming's leveller and winning the resultant penalty shootout, and they have since managed one point from their first two league games, conceding five goals along the way.
They began at home to fellow relegated side West Ham United and snatched a point from 2-0 down, as Flemming scored in the 83rd and 92nd minutes to force a share of the spoils, before visiting West Bromwich Albion on Saturday and leaving empty-handed following a 3-1 defeat, having led early through an own goal.
With pressure and the need to get up and running growing after their tricky start, Burnley will now bid to win in 90 minutes for the first time in competitive action this season with Hayen at the helm to book a third-round place and kickstart an improvement in their Championship campaign with a tough run of fixtures looming.
Bradford City vs Burnley form guide & betting tips
| Bradford City | vs | Burnley |
|---|---|---|
WWW |
Form | WDL |
| 5 | Goals For | 4 |
| 0 | Goals Against | 6 |
W |
EFL Cup | W |
Whispers predicts: Bradford City 0-1 Burnley
Burnley should have the quality to break through at Valley Parade and force Bradford City to concede a first goal of the season, but given their relatively slow start under Hayen and the hosts' run of clean sheets, we anticipate a low-scoring affair and fancy under 2.5 goals at 8/11 (1.73).
Three of Burnley's four goals this season have come through last season's top scorer Zian Flemming, who missed their trip to West Bromwich Albion at the weekend with a knock, and in his absence, their only goal came from an own goal. Yet to kick into gear under their new boss and meeting a strong and resilient Bradford City team, we do not envisage the Clarets running away with the game. Under 1.5 Burnley goals is priced at 4/7 (1.57).
Bradford City have won 26 corners in their three competitive matches so far this season and will fancy their chances to attack Burnley rather than sit deep, while the visitors' quality going forward, even without Flemming, could earn them plenty of set pieces. We fancy over 10 total corners at 6/4 (2.50).
> Under 2.5 goals at 8/11 (1.73) | Likelihood: Probable
> Under 1.5 Burnley goals at 4/7 (1.57) | Likelihood: Likely
> Over 10 corners at 6/4 (2.50) | Likelihood: Possible