Preview: Wrexham vs. Tranmere Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts are two points behind first-placed Mansfield Town heading into this game, while the visitors find themselves firmly in the middle of the league.

Match preview

Wrexham head into this game in second place and just two points behind the current leaders Mansfield, although third-placed Stockport County are just three points off the top of the table with two games in hand on both sides above them.

Phil Parkinson's side endured a slight wobble through the latter part of January and early February as they lost four straight games, three in the league and one in the FA Cup to Championship Blackburn Rovers, which saw them briefly drop out of the automatic promotion places.

However, the Red Dragons have quickly returned to form and now find themselves in a great position to earn promotion from League Two in their first season back in the Football League since 2007-08, while they are also on the hunt for potential back-to-back league titles.

No side has been better than Parkinson's team when playing in front of their home crowd this season, as Wrexham have picked up 13 wins and three draws in their 18 games at the Racecourse Ground.

That home form will give the hosts plenty of confidence ahead of their meeting with a Tranmere side that have managed just three wins away from home so far this campaign, leaving them as the second-worst away side in the league.

While they have been extremely disappointing when playing on the road, Nigel Adkins's side have been excellent when playing at home and that has helped them move away from the relegation zone and safely into mid-table.

The Rovers started the season under the management of Ian Dawes but a poor start saw them win just one of their opening seven league games, resulting in Dawes being replaced with the experienced Adkins, who initially took over as an interim but was quickly signed as the permanent replacement.

Tranmere won two of Adkins's first five games in charge but went on to lose the following six matches. The manager eventually turned his side's form around completely though, playing 23 games since that run of defeats and winning 11 of those, with eight losses.

This has seen the Rovers put distance between themselves and the relegation zone and they now look destined for a fifth straight season in League Two.

Wrexham League Two form:

D

L

D

W

W

D

Tranmere Rovers League Two form:

W

L

L

W

D

W

Team News

Wrexham's defensive three of Max Cleworth, Eoghan O'Connell and William Boyle have performed well in recent games, conceding just once in their last three, and Parkinson is likely to continue with that selection at the back.

Steven Fletcher may come into the forward line in place of Ollie Palmer for this match, with Palmer still yet to score since the beginning of December in a 3-0 win over Yeovil Town.

Adkins could name an unchanged XI from his side's 2-1 victory over league leaders Mansfield in their previous outing after they got through the game with no new injury concerns.

Midfielder Robert Apter has been in superb goalscoring form in recent weeks, netting four goals in his last seven appearances, and Adkins will be looking to him to make the difference once again in this one.

Wrexham possible starting lineup:

Okonkwo; Cleworth, O'Connell, Boyle; Barnett, McClean, Lee, Cannon, Mendy; Fletcher, Mullin

Tranmere Rovers possible starting lineup:

McGee; O'Connor, Yarney, Turnbull, Wood; Apter, Walker, Hendry, Morris; Jennings, Saunders

We say: Wrexham 2-1 Tranmere Rovers

Parkinson's side have been almost unbeatable at home this season while Tranmere have been one of the worst-performing sides when playing away from home. For this reason, we believe that Wrexham will take the three points in this game as they continue their hunt for back-to-back league titles.

Wrexham's defence has been performing to a top level in recent games and we expect them to make it difficult for Tranmere to create many chances in this one.

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