Bradford City aim to make football history in cup semi-final against Aston Villa

Bradford stunned Aston Villa with a 3-1 win in the first leg of the semi-final Credit: PA

Cup runs are usually marked by fans enjoying their 'big day out', knowing it's as far as they're going to go. But this year, Bradford City have been a revelation in the Capital One Cup – and they're not here to make up the numbers.

Assembled at a cost of just £7,500, Phil Parkinson's side have successfully seen off the likes of Wigan and Arsenal with their organised, combative style.

And with a 3-1 aggregate lead going into tonight's semi-final second leg against Aston Villa, they know they've never had a better chance of making the final.

Villa Park is an imposing sight to a club used to the smaller grounds of League Two. Bradford will need to defend for their lives against a Premier League side who've been sucked into a relegation battle and could do without the pressure – and embarrassment – that defeat tonight would inflict.

It wasn't long ago that the Bantams couldn't have logically been termed 'giant killers'. It's only been 12 years since they slipped out of the Premier League - and kept on slipping.

Three relegations in six years put them in League Two. But there's now a sense around Valley Parade that the club is heading back in the right direction.

And Bradford fans are hoping their next stop along the way will be in becoming the first League Two side to reach a Wembley cup final.

Watching from the other side of the world is Steve Dennis, one of the club's most far-flung supporters. He'll be watching the game from a pub in Venice Beach, California.