Sheffield United fought back to share the points with a 2-2 draw in a stirring Yorkshire derby in front of a bumper 19,317 crowd at Valley Parade. Bradford dominated the first 30 minutes and deservedly went ahead in the 33rd minute through left-back James Meredith. Winger Paul Anderson swung the ball into the goalmouth from the left and Devante Cole managed to flick the ball into the path of Meredith, who lobbed it over Mark Howard as the Blades goalkeeper dived at his feet. The goal gave the Bantams a 1-0 half-time lead and they went further in front after 47 minutes through Cole, for his third goal in four matches.
Cole managed to get goal-side of David Edgar after chasing a long through ball from Gary Liddle and the Blades defender had the misfortune to see his attempted clearance rebound off the Bradford striker and into the net. The visitors pulled a goal back after 66 minutes when a long throw from substitute Craig Alcock found Chris Basham, whose header looped over the head of Bradford debutant goalkeeper Brad Jones and four minutes later leading scorer Billy Sharp scored the equaliser, his fifth goal in five matches.
The Bradford defence failed to cut out a long ball into the box from substitute Jose Baxter and, although Jones saved Sharp's first shot he could not stop the rebound. Bradford, who are unbeaten in five matches, nearly snatched the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time when James Hanson saw his header cleared off the line by the head of Baxter. It proved to be the last incident of the match.
Blades boss Nigel Adkins will be without the services of, Matt Done (collarbone), John Brayford, Bob Harris, Stefan Scougall (calf) and Terry Kennedy (knee), whom all remain side-lined through injury. However, he is boosted by the potential return of duo Che Adams and Paul Coutts, both of whom scored goals in the U-21's 4-0 win at Cardiff City last Monday night.
Manager less Doncaster Rovers, who have competed with former defender Rob Jones at the helm as caretaker since the departure of Paul Dickov on 8 September. There last (and only) league victory came on 29 August in a 2-0 win at home to Fleetwood Town, and after eight games played out so far, the Rovers lay deep in a relegation dog fight, 2nd in the table.
Oldham ended a run of three successive defeats to clinch a hard earned point in a 1-1 draw with Doncaster. But it left them without a victory in their last seven games while Doncaster have not won in two matches since sacking manager Paul Dickov. There was little goalmouth action in a scrappy first half hour, although James Coppinger missed a chance for the home side when he volleyed high over the top in the 23rd minute.
Rovers took the lead with a goal out of the blue three minutes later when defender Andy Butler headed home at the far post following a free-kick from Cameron Stewart. But the visitors hit back in the 34th minute when Jonathan Burn headed home from close range following a corner from Mark Yeates. Doncaster improved after the interval following the introduction of substitute Richie Wellens who immediately carved out a chance for Coppinger, who fired wide. Dany N'Guessan twice went close but Oldham hung on for a point with Mike Jones clearing off the line from Gary MacKenzie in injury time.
The visitors to Bramall Lane are expected to be without star striker Nathan Tyson after he has suffered a setback in his recovery. They are also due to be without Luke McCullough, Mitchell Lund and Harry Forrester through injury, but Andy Williams will be in contention after he has shrugged off a facial injury.
Blades-Mad Prediction: Sheffield United 1 Doncaster Rovers 0
