BRADFORD City staff are looking forward to tomorrow's FA Cup clash against Sunderland as they gear up for their biggest match since the 1960s.

The Bantams are preparing to do battle with the Premier League side at Valley Parade, as the city goes cup crazy.

After their shock 4-2 victory over giants Chelsea in the previous round, Phil Parkinson's League One outfit hope to pull off another surprise scalp in the fifth round.

And a sell-out crowd of 24,000 is expected to create a "great" atmosphere tomorrow.

Club bosses hope to beat the 23,971 that watched City beat Arsenal in the League Cup in December 2012.

Victory against Gus Poyet's side could be worth up to £1.25 million for City.

The winners will receive £180,000 for going through, with TV revenue for booking a place in the quarter-finals set at £247,500.

Then, depending on who City would draw in the next round, for instance Manchester United at Old Trafford, the tally could be taken up to £1.25m.

Preparations have been in full swing at the ground this week as dedicated staff put out the player's kits in the dressing rooms, deal with increased national media interest and make last-minute security checks.

James Mason, Bradford City's chief operating officer, said the club was planning to place claret and amber banners on each seat of the Kop stand for the fans to hold up minutes before the game gets under way.

"It is one of the biggest games in the club's history. We want to make a real festival of the occasion. It is set to be a sell-out of just over 24,000, which is phenomenal.

"We want it to be a noisy, visual affair and a football spectacle. It will be our biggest crowd since the 1960s," he said.

He said the week leading to the game this weekend had been "manic" and "everyone had wanted a bit of us this week."

"By rights, we shouldn't have got past Millwall in the third round but we did. Then Chelsea did not know what hit them," he said.

"It has been so important to the club financially. It has meant we can start next season on an even keel. It also meant we didn't have to sell any of our players during the January transfer window.

"This is a Premier League-type fixture for us.

"A quarter-final match would be huge for us as it would automatically be televised live.

"We will have pretty much every one in here for the game, including all of the major broadcasting companies and national newspapers."

And to make sure everyone watching knows whose ground the match is at, a ten-metre wide banner featuring a design of a Bradford City scarf will be draped across the centre circle before kick-off.

David Dowse, the club's facilities manager, who is in charge of the security and safety within the stadium, said the larger crowd was a big change for staff, but they were ready to take on the extra responsibility.

He added: "We are gearing up really well for the game. It's a big step up for us as we are used to 12 to 14,000 crowds.

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"We are working closely with the local authority and police on this game.

"I would appeal for fans to get to the stadium for 2pm ready for a 2.30pm kick-off.

"It has been a really busy week for us after we played MK Dons at home in the league on Monday too, but we will be ready for the game."

Graham Duckworth, club kit man, and his staff have been getting the City's players' match and training kits ready for the first-team squad since Tuesday.

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He said: "We have about 260 pieces of equipment out for the squad of 20 players.

"For people outside the club and the fans it's a massive game, but it's just like any other game for us in terms of preparation.

"I'm a fan so this is a dream job for me."

Meanwhile, a team of three students from the University of Bradford will be filming the cup clash.

The School of Media, Design and Technology students record all of the club's home games and produce eight copies of the DVD which are given to Bradford City for match analysis and uploaded onto the club's website.

Copies of the DVDs are also kept within the University's archives as the students gain valuable work experience pitchside.

Lucas Uren, 24, a second year television production degree student, who will be filming the game, said: "It's the perfect opportunity to learn our craft. It's great to see Bradford doing so well."

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