Bradford City v Peterborough United: Jon McCracken sharing clean sheet credit as Bantams go for glory
No goalkeeper in English football has kept as many clean sheets as Jon McCracken this season, but he insists Bradford City's cast-iron solidity is a team effort as they look to set up a plum quarter-final tie in the League Cup.
League One sides Bradford and Peterborough United meet at Valley Parade on Tuesday, knowing that barring a shock Fleetwood Town win over Arsenal the same night, they will be facing a Premier League side in the last eight.
Eighteen places above Posh in the table, the Bantams will be favourites, with summer signing goalkeeper McCracken having kept 11 clean sheets in his 14 games for the club.
He has not been beaten in 566 minutes of football (plus stoppage time) and it is eight matches since an opposition player put the ball past him.
“It's a team effort it's not just the goalie and defenders," said the Scotland international, who conceded a Macaulay Gillesphey own goal at Leyton Orient in the last round.
“It's just nice to play in a team that don't give away many chances.
"I think we've probably got the lowest xG against us in the league, so that's credit to the team.
“It's not just myself and the defenders doing that, but it's a nice stat (on the most clean sheets) and if I get credited with it, then I'll take it.”
The value of expected goals metrics is debatable but only the two teams above Bradford in the proper League One table – Huddersfield Town and Stockport County have narrowly outperformed them in that respect.
But the game is not about statistics, it is about glory, and Bradford are aiming for their first League Cup quarter-final in what is already their best season in the competition since reaching the 2013 final as a League Two club.
The Bantams introduced a £5 ticket offer for advanced tickets to try to ensure the home following which is such a strength in league football comes into the equation against Robbie Savage's side too.
“I think the club have done really well with the cup games in terms of their pricing,” said McCracken. “They've made it affordable for everyone.
“That's a credit to the guys above that have managed to authorise that. It obviously makes a massive difference when Valley Parade’s packed and hopefully that should help us get over the line.
“It’s a massive game. It’s a great opportunity for the club to progress into the quarter-finals.
“It’s a long time since that happened. It's a big credit to the club that we've managed to take care of some big teams and challenging games.”
A back spasm kept Stephen Humphrys out of Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Oxford United. Peterborough’s nine-goal striker Harry Leonard will miss the game through suspension.
The tie will be decided on the night, going straight to penalties if scores are level at the end of 90 minutes.
There are six all-Premier League ties in the last 16, five of them featuring teams playing in Europe this season.
The quarter-final draw is live on Sky Sports after Wednesday's game between Liverpool and Chelsea.