Francis Cummins is convinced the Bulls can overcome arch-rivals Leeds tonight – provided they hit top form.

The latest meeting between the old enemies will mark Cummins’ first derby game at Odsal as Bradford’s head coach.

The 36-year-old former Leeds winger saw his men claim a deserved share of the spoils in a thrilling 18-18 draw at Headingley in March.

After defeats to Wigan and Warrington in their past two Super League outings, Cummins (pictured) accepts an improvement will be required in this evening’s televised showdown.

But he insisted: “We know we need to be at our best but if we do produce our best form then we’ll beat Leeds.

“I’m totally convinced of that. It’s easy me saying it – doing it is the difficult part.

“The game at Headingley in March gave us confidence at the time because we dominated field position.

“A lot of people talked only about the referee rather than how well we played and put them under pressure.

“There are aspects that I want to ask more of against Leeds and we will have to work just as hard, if not harder, than we did that night.”

Tonight’s match is the Bulls’ 14th round of the season and will take them into the second half of the campaign.

They currently lie sixth, a tribute to the job Cummins has performed in making his team a competitive force despite operating with a small squad following a raft of departures at the end of a deeply troubled 2012 campaign.

“I think sixth place is about right for us so far,” said Cummins.

“If you’re Brian Mac at Leeds you say ‘we’ll be top four’, but I didn’t know where we were going to be.

“I knew where we could have been but had we had a few more injuries here and there we could have been right at the bottom.

“But I’m really happy with the players’ effort and the way they’ve changed.

“We’ve been a little bit up and down and I’ve spoken quite a lot to the boys about not being happy where we were at Easter.

“It’s the next half of the season where we really need to kick on.

“We’ve made a good start but this is where it counts now.”

The Bulls have showed their ability to go toe to toe with the best sides after beating Huddersfield comprehensively at the John Smith’s Stadium and pushing Leeds all the way on their own turf.

Cummins could not fault his players’ desire at Warrington last weekend but is looking for more quality against the Rhinos this evening.

He added: “We need to be a bit more ruthless when we get field position and bide our time.

“At the moment we are trying to score off every big play when we are in good-ball areas. “It’s down to a lack of experience, needing a little more patience and not chasing the game when there is no need.”

Bradford dominated Super League in the early years of the Millennium, famously reaching five successive Grand Finals and winning three of them.

This is now very much Leeds’ time, with the Rhinos having won five Grand Finals in the past six seasons.

Cummins said: “The derby atmosphere has always been great, whether at Murrayfield, the Millennium Stadium or Old Trafford.

“The best atmosphere I ever played in was here in 1999 when there was over 24,000 in the ground.

“Although Leeds lost that game, it was a special occasion and I hope we can go some way to creating that special atmosphere again.”

Matty Blythe is set for a return after eight games out through injury and Ryan Bailey is back for Leeds after a four-match ban.