Two of the favourites for automatic promotion meet at the Racecourse Ground on Thursday night, when Wrexham host Birmingham City in a highly-anticipated League One contest.
The Red Dragons have been formidable on their own patch so far in the third tier, but Blues will nevertheless be looking to continue their sensational unbeaten streak with three points in North Wales.
Match preview
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After rising from the rags of the National League to the relative riches of League One in just two campaigns, Wrexham are looking to continue their Hollywood-theme ascent to the very top of the English game, aiming for three straight promotions under the stewardship of Phil Parkinson.
That being said, the Red Dragons have displayed some flaws in the third tier since the turn of the New Year, losing 2-1 at Barnsley on New Year's Day before a defeat by the same scoreline at Shrewsbury Town last Thursday night, when a John Marquis double downed the visitors at The Croud Meadow.
Collecting 38 of their 51 points at the Racecourse Ground so far this term, Wrexham have been highly reliant on home matches to fuel their hopes of earning promotion to the Championship for the 2025-26 term, with the Welsh outfit 14 games unbeaten in front of their home faithful, winning on 12 occasions.
Earning just three points from their opening three league contests of 2025, the Red Dragons are sitting in third spot in the League One standings, three points behind Wycombe Wanderers in second and a considerable five points back from current pacesetters and Thursday's opponents Birmingham.
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Birmingham continued their canter back to the Championship at the first time of asking last Saturday, when a first goal in royal blue for right-back Ethan Laird secured a 1-0 success for the Second City giants over Devon-based outfit Exeter City at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.
Indeed, Blues stretched their winning run across the third tier, EFL Trophy and FA Cup to four contests with a narrow victory over the Grecians last time out, meaning that Chris Davies's men are now 14 games unbeaten since the shock defeat at the home of Shrewsbury in late November.
As expected at the beginning of the campaign, Birmingham are sitting pretty at the very summit of the League One table as the business end of the season approaches, with Thursday's visitors five points ahead of third-placed Wrexham despite having played two games fewer at this stage.
Unbeaten in 12 League One matches at St Andrew's so far this term (9W 3D), Blues are certainly more vulnerable on their travels as they often struggle to enjoy the same level of control in games, although Davies's troops are still unbeaten across their last eight away contests.
Team News
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Following a worrying result at relegation-threatened Shrewsbury last time out, Wrexham could make some changes to their XI, with Andy Cannon a candidate to drop out of the side.
The Red Dragons are likely to switch back to a two-man forward line on their own patch this week, meaning that Paul Mullin or Jack Marriott could be promoted from the bench.
Birmingham could be without their first-choice midfield in North Wales, with Paik Seung-ho and Tomoki Iwata missing the win over Exeter on the weekend.
There is better news in the form of winger Keshi Anderson, who should be available in some capacity when Blues travel to the Racecourse Ground.
The visitors remain without the services of Willum Willumsson, Emil Hansson and Lee Buchanan, with the latter sidelined for the remainder of the campaign due to a serious knee injury.
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Cleworth, O'Connell, O'Connor; Barnett, Lee, Rathbone, James, Mendy; Marriott, Fletcher
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Bielik, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane; Leonard, Gardner-Hickman, Anderson, Dykes, Stansfield; May
We say: Wrexham 1-1 Birmingham City
Unbeaten at their home pitch in League One this season, Wrexham are unlikely to be seriously fazed by the arrival of the league leaders on Thursday night.
Without key midfielders and attackers, Birmingham might need to hold on at times in North Wales, although they should be good enough for a share of the points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
