DAVID Hopkin hopes the big-crowd buzz will inspire City to three huge points against Oxford.

The club anticipate a Valley Parade audience potentially approaching 20,000 for a game many view as a “must win”.

City have slashed admission to £1 and Hopkin believes the extra backing can lift his side to only a second home win of the season.

“It’s going to be a fantastic occasion,” he said. “The club have done well with the £1 entry to get as many Bradford fans in as they can.

“Hopefully they get behind the team because that’s what we need at this moment in time. We don’t need any negativity.

“We need to stick together. When they do come to support the team, the players respond to that.

“It’s a massive game for us and we have to make sure we’re competitive and try to get a result.

“Everybody is looking forward to it. We had a fantastic point at Peterborough and won the other night against Aldershot.

“The mentality is changing with the players and the fans can really spur us on and hopefully get us the victory we desperately need.”

Oxford are unbeaten since the beginning of October – a burst that has lifted them to one place above the relegation zone and seven points clear of City.

Hopkin added: “It’s a tough league. They’ve done well with nine games unbeaten.

“They have got an attacking squad of players and can hit you on the counter. That’s one thing we need to be careful of.

“Every game is a challenge but the players are getting there. The mental strength is the biggest thing I can see now.”

Hope Akpan missed the FA Cup win over Aldershot to rest a slight groin problem he suffered at Peterborough. Hopkin is optimistic about his chances.

He said: “Hope did a light gym session yesterday morning and we’ll see how he is after that.

“He’s a big player for us so hopefully he will recover in time.

“We’ve got a lot of games coming in the next three weeks. We need to make sure everyone’s fully fit and recovering the best they can.”

But long-term absentee Jake Reeves still appears no nearer to joining the other casualties slowly returning to the ranks.

“His recovery has not gone as well as we thought,” said Hopkin. “Every time we get close to Jake coming back, then something else seems to crop up.”