Wrexhamvs.Bristol Rovers

The Red Dragons will be looking for a win this week after dropping points last time out, while the Gas will be desperate to stop the rot after six consecutive defeats.

Match preview

Phil Parkinson's Wrexham are on course for automatic promotion to the Championship next season, but having dropped four points from their last three games, they will be looking over their shoulder.

Most recently, the Red Dragons played out a drab 0-0 draw on the road to Wigan Athletic, and the boss will be particularly concerned by the fact that his team failed to register a single shot on target against a club that were just three spots above the relegation zone.

Parkinson's men are still second in the third tier ahead of this week's clash, but their lead over third-placed Wycombe Wanderers was reduced to just one point after the Chairboys beat Stevenage 1-0, and the Welsh side are now at risk of falling into the playoffs should they drop any more points.

That being said, Friday's hosts will draw confidence from the fact that they have won four home games on the bounce, and having kept five consecutive clean sheets at the Racecourse Ground - as well as eight from their last 10 league games and a division-high 22 all campaign - fans will be expecting a return to winning ways against Rovers.

Should Wrexham manage to earn maximum points this week, then they could create a four-point cushion between themselves and Wycombe depending on results elsewhere, but defeat would be enough for them to lose their automatic promotion spot with only three matches left to play.

Meanwhile, Inigo Calderon's Rovers have been drawn back into the relegation battle after a disastrous six-game losing streak following their back-to-back wins in early March.

Last time out, the Gas were beaten 2-1 on their own turf by Exeter City and were booed off the pitch by their own fans after the result caused them to fall into the drop zone.

To make matters worse, Calderon's side are not only 21st in the table but have played a game more than 20th-placed Burton Albion, who are in commendable form having won three of their last five fixtures.

With this in mind, Friday's visitors will need to put points on the board as soon as possible, but with a poor travelling record of just one away victory in their last 14 on the road, they will have to pull off an unexpected twist to take anything from high-flying Wrexham.

If Rovers are somehow able to defy their form of eight defeats and one draw from their last nine away matches to take all three points this week, then they could escape the bottom four, though Burton are more likely to move clear of the Gas and leave them in a precarious position with a dwindling number of matches remaining to bounce back.

Wrexham League One form:

W

W

W

D

W

D

Bristol Rovers League One form:

L

L

L

L

L

L

Team News

Wrexham forwards Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez will be desperate to put things right this week after such a poor outing at the Brick Community Stadium, and the duo will be supported by wing-backs James McClean and Ryan Longman.

In defence, a back three of Max Cleworth, Eoghan O'Connell and Lewis Brunt will be protecting Arthur Okonkwo between the sticks and hoping to keep their side's 23rd clean sheet of the league season.

As for Rovers, Kofi Shaw and Ruel Sotiriou should join striker Gatlin O'Donkor up top, though Luke Thomas could come into the XI in place of Grant Ward after the latter was taken off at half time against Exeter.

Elsewhere, Matt Butcher and Romaine Sawyers are likely to be paired at the base of Calderon's midfield, just ahead of centre-backs James Wilson and Connor Taylor.

Wrexham possible starting lineup:

Okonkwo; Cleworth, O'Connell, Brunt; Longman, Dobson, James, Rathbone, McClean; Rodriguez; Smith

Bristol Rovers possible starting lineup:

Ward; Hunt, Wilson, Taylor, Swinkels; Sawyers, Butcher; Shaw, Thomas, Sotiriou; O'Donkor

We say: Wrexham 2-0 Bristol Rovers

Wrexham may have dropped points last time out with a poor offensive display against Wigan, but they will be motivated by their home crowd to avoid slipping into the playoffs.

Written by

Anthony Nolan

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