One of the early League One title contenders, Wrexham, continue their domestic campaign on Tuesday when they make the journey up to Broadhall Way for a date with Stevenage.
Over the weekend, the Boro defeated Charlton Athletic 1-0, moving up to 11th in the table, well behind Wrexham, who dropped to second with a 0-0 draw at Leyton Orient.
Match preview
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Another strong second-half showing got Stevenage back on the right track in League One as they ended a two-match losing run in this competition on Saturday.
All of their League One goals this season have come in the final 45 minutes of play, while two of their three defeats occurred when they were behind at the half.
While Alex Revell's men have scored the second-fewest goals in the league thus far (six), they have made up for that by conceding the joint-fewest goals (five).
After eight matches in this competition Stevenage have racked up 11 points, four fewer than they had at this same stage of the previous campaign.
Nine of their 11 domestic points this season have transpired at Broadhall Way, with Stevenage posting a clean sheet in each of those victories.
Tuesday will be the first time in over 25 years that they face Wrexham in a competitive fixture, and the last time they did, the Boro claimed a 1-0 victory at the Racecourse Ground, their first-ever triumph against the Welsh side.
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Rarely have we seen a League One side keep the dangerous Wrexham attack at bay this season, but that is precisely what transpired on Saturday.
Phil Parkinson's men were held goalless for the second time domestically this season, registering just two efforts on target throughout the 90 minutes.
The Red Dragons have one point from their last two away matches in this competition and would equal their longest domestic winless run as the visitors from a season ago should they fail to claim maximum points on Tuesday.
With 17 points after eight matchdays, Wrexham have collected two more points than they had at this stage of the 2023-24 League Two campaign.
Their five League One victories this season have occurred when they found themselves in front after 45 minutes, with this team winning 16 consecutive domestic fixtures when leading at the half.
Wrexham have never lost to Stevenage at Broadhall Way, with their previous visit there ending in a 0-0 draw (2009), while they collected a 2-1 win against them in 2008.
Team News
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On Saturday, Stevenage were without Charlie Goode, who is recovering from a broken fibula, while Dan Sweeney and Jake Forster-Caskey have been ruled out for the remainder of 2024 because of knee injuries.
Aaron Pressley is expected to resume full training from an ankle issue next month, Taye Ashby-Hammond is back training after previously hurting his hand and Jamie Reid was back on the field Saturday for the first time since he suffered a leg injury a few months ago.
Jordan Roberts netted the only goal against Charlton, his first of the new League One campaign, as Murphy Cooper made two stops to collect his fifth clean sheet in the competition.
The Red Dragons did not have Luke Bolton available this weekend due to a foot injury, while Max Cleworth is a major concern for this encounter after hobbling off with what appeared to be an ankle sprain on Saturday.
Anthony Forde was sidelined in their last encounter with a knock, George Evans came off the bench after previously being hurt this season, while Paul Mullin was a substitute after starting his first League One fixture against Crawley Town, replacing Jack Marriott in the second half.
Arthur Okonkwo only had to make one save against Leyton Orient as the Wrexham keeper collected his fifth domestic clean sheet of the season.
Stevenage possible starting lineup:
Cooper; James-Wildin, N. Thompson, Piergianni, Butler; Freeman, L. Thompson; Roberts, Kemp, Phillips; Reid
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Barnett, Scarr, O'Connell, O'Connor, Revan; Cannon, Dobson, Lee; Mullin, Marriott
We say: Stevenage 0-1 Wrexham
Early into the new campaign, Wrexham have proven they have a lot more attacking depth outside of Mullin, and we believe they will be able to overcome a stubborn Stevenage side who are not particularly dangerous going forward.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
