EFL League One REVIEW 20 Aug 2026: Bradford end 21-year Hillsborough wait, sink Wednesday 1-0

Bradford City won 1-0 away to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough, with Aden Baldwin's 47th-minute strike settling a game between two sides who had both won their opening fixtures. The result put Bradford top of the League One table on six points from two matches, while Sheffield Wednesday slipped to eighth on three points, their unbeaten start ended. Our model had called Bradford at 42% to win this one, and got it right.

The fixture was notable simply for happening at all in a league context: Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City had not met in a league game for 21 years before Thursday, a gap running back to a 2-1 Bradford win at Hillsborough. Across their eight league meetings since 1999, spanning the Premier League, the old First Division and League One, Sheffield Wednesday had held the edge with three wins to Bradford's two and three draws — a record this result put a dent in.

Both clubs arrived in confident form. Bradford's win continued an impressive rise under manager Graham Alexander, who led the Bantams to promotion into League One in 2024-25 before a play-off semi-final defeat to Bolton Wanderers last season; another promotion push is the stated aim this time. Sheffield Wednesday, by contrast, were only two matches into life back at this level following a Championship season that ended with administration and an 18-point deduction, the club since taken over by new ownership group Arise Capital Partners.

Alexander flagged the occasion beforehand, saying of playing at Hillsborough: "The atmosphere is good and you can almost smell the history, a little bit like Valley Parade." He added of the test facing his players: "Can we go into this cauldron, into this atmosphere and be who we are? That's a real litmus test for us." His side passed it, taking all three points on the night.