Football Nationwide preview: Burley cannot afford illusions

NOBODY COULD accuse George Burley, the Ipswich manager, of being anything other than a realist.

The former Scottish international is under no illusions about the task his team face at Bradford despite the fact that Ipswich have conceded the fewest goals, 11, on their travels.

However Burley does cast an envious glance towards Paul Jewell's side, who have scored more goals at home, 36, than any other First Division side.

"Bradford are doing very well at the moment. They've only been beaten once recently, and they have a very good home record," Burley said.

"They invested heavily in the summer and they certainly seem to be reaping the rewards for it at the moment."

Confidence is high at Valley Parade with the West Yorkshire side in second place, a fact Chris Hutchings, the Bantams No 2, attributes to consistent selection.

"Having a settled side makes one hell of a difference because the players know what to expect from each other and know what each other are doing," he said.

"Ipswich are going well at the moment and we expect it to be a difficult game, but we have got nothing to fear from them."

Sunderland put an end to their three-game losing streak with the 2-0 defeat of Swindon last week but their assistant manager Bob Saxton is wary of more Robins causing any more damage to the Wearsiders' promotion hopes.

The League leaders travel to struggling Bristol City, who took a point from the Stadium of Light earlier in the season. "I saw them play against QPR last week and they did well, they had a good go at them and were unlucky not to win," Saxton said.

"Every game is like a cup-tie for us at the moment, because everyone wants to beat us, but that's the way it is when you're top of the League."

Colin Todd, the Bolton boss, wants his side to maintain their focus when they entertain West Bromwich. A 13-game unbeaten run has seen Wanderers mount a strong challenge on promotion - just one point behind Bradford with a game in hand.

"We've got to keep the bubble going, but once again it will be another difficult game for us," Todd said.

"But if the application and belief is right and if the players work for each other then we should be OK."

Stockport's manager, Gary Megson, is looking for a repeat of last week's 2-0 win at Norwich when his side host Birmingham, but he looks enviously at the finance available to Trevor Francis. "We sat down and worked it out the other day that we paid around pounds 640,000 for 14 players on our team and I'm sure it will be a bit different for Birmingham," he said.

Wolves' Colin Lee saw all his international players return unscathed from midweek duty for their home game against Port Vale, but he was less than impressed with the timing of the friendlies.

"It is nice for the lads to play for their country but you have to look at the situation which occurred at Wembley," Lee said.

"I really feel for Arsene Wenger because he's sat watching the match and one minute he sees Lee Dixon carried off on a stretcher and the next Martin Keown's limping off.

"When you have got such an important fixture list coming up, you have to ask yourself, is it really worth it?"

On-loan Danny Murphy goes straight into the Crewe starting line-up after rejoining the Railwaymen from Liverpool on a month's loan.