Bradford City v Huddersfield Town: Martin Drury on what 'excites' him most on derby day - as Michael Duff eyes 'bounce'

It revolves around Town ending his old club's remarkable recent defensive record – en route to what Drury hopes will be the precursor to a fourth consecutive league win for the League One leaders, who have averaged two goals a game so far this term.

City rival and ex-Town chief Michael Duff has yet to concede a goal since being appointed 25 days ago.

In all competitions, the Bantams' unblemished streak – incorporating Duff's four league games in charge thus far – is up to six matches and encompasses over 10 hours of football.

Their goals against tally at league level in 2026-27 – five in 12 matches – is the best record in the EFL and equal with Premier League champions Arsenal.

Drury, who face a City side who will draw level on points with them at the summit, should they prevail, said: “That glaring stat of them (Bradford) not conceding many goals is something that excites us. We're going to embrace that challenge.

“I mean this respectfully, they're not a team that hasn't faced chances against them.

“But they're very, very good in the situations and scenarios where normally a lot of teams would concede. They're fully committed to keeping clean sheets. You can see by the way they've had numerous goal-line clearances. The way they defend is tactically different from any other team in the league.

“It's going to be difficult. But I have a lot of faith in the players. We're scoring a variety of types of goals at this moment.”

This eagerly-anticipated derby was heading towards a sell-out on Friday afternoon, with fewer than 300 home tickets still available.

Last season's autumn fixture between these rivals attracted a modern-day record crowd of 24,075 at Valley Parade and another bumper attendance will again display the considerable potential of both clubs.

For Duff, such games also convey City's progression over the past few seasons.

He commented: “If you look seven or eight years ago, one (Huddersfield) were in the Premier League and one (Bradford) were scrapping around at the bottom of League Two. In terms of trajectories, they're different. I think Huddersfield have had a reset now and look like they’ve bottomed out a little bit and are going again. But my focus is on Bradford.”

Asked whether this derby is more befitting of a Championship stage, Drury concurred, while also providing a caveat. “You'd like to think so,” added the 40-year-old, who served in several coaching roles in his time with the Bantams.

“Obviously, both clubs are really ambitious and want to be playing at a higher level, and both have played at a higher level.

“It's crazy to think how many people will be there when it's a League One fixture.

“But at the same time, we're all in League One for a reason: because we've not been good enough at a higher level (to stay).”

While Drury has been fully aware of the depth of feeling regarding this particular derby for some time, it is relatively new to Duff, who did not experience it during his near 10-month stint at Huddersfield. Rest assured, he knows plenty about it now.

He said: “I'm fully aware of the importance of what it means. But more importantly, it's first v fourth.

“If we beat them we go to level of points with them. But the extra little bit is sending the supporters home happy.

“They're always happy when you win but they (would) bounce home after this one. We want to send them home bouncing.”

A minutes applause will be held ahead of kick-off in memory of former Bantams and Town goalkeeping coach John Vaughan, who passed away earlier this month.