Bradford City v Harrogate Town: Mark Hughes considering changes but derby is not a 'must-win'

But the experienced manager is keen to downplay any sense of panic after two wins in the opening seven League Two matches.

It took a formation change, some good substitutions and a late Alex Gilliead goal to draw with Grimsby Town last week, and Hughes will be looking for better from his first Yorkshire derby of 2023-24.

“We finished strongly last time out, and have a number of players coming back, which will help," said Hughes, when asked how his squad was shaping up.

“There are a few players I would like to have a look at from the last game. The guys who came on in the second half against Grimsby certainly staked a claim to play.

"That will be interesting to see if I can give them a little bit more game-time.

“There are a lot of reasons to look forward to the game, not least with it being a local derby, so let’s see what we can do.

“We are looking forward to the game. There are a lot of reasons to be excited for it.”

But he does not want anyone going overboard about a trickier-than-hoped-for start.

"I think it's a game we'll have a good opportunity to win but we don't want to be disrespectful to the opposition and say we will win," he said. "Our intention is to win and if we play well with the talent we've got in the group, there's no reason why we can't. But must-win? After seven games? Nah."

Ryan Tulloch was introduced with Gilliead at the interval and later there were debuts for Chisom Afoka and Jon Tomkinson, plus an Emmanuel Osadebe cameo.

For Tomkinson it was an important moment after tearing ankle ligaments in pre-season, and the treatment room is starting to thin out.

“Clarke (Oduor) has come back from international duty (with Kenya), and is recovering from the travelling he has done,” said Hughes.

“We are still waiting on Tyler (Smith), who took part in a little bit of training on Thursday, but Harry Chapman has been back out on the grass and Andy Cook is back out, getting back up to speed.

“Sam Stubbs is okay, and trained well.”