A touch of Hollywood comes to Portman Road this Saturday with the visit of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham.

Phil Parkinson’s side currently sit 13th in the Championship as they look to stabilise in the division following their meteoric rise from the National League.

They come into this one unbeaten in five games, having claimed the scalp of Coventry in recent weeks and also managed a draw with Middlesbrough. They’re not a side to be taken lightly.

They also represent the type of team Town struggle with as can be seen below. They allow the highest PPDA (Passes per Defensive Action) in the league.

Goalkeepers

Danny Ward was signed on a free from Leicester to provide an experienced head in goal and started the season with the gloves, putting in a stunning performance against Southampton on the opening day but has only played three more games since with injury keeping him out for the rest.

That’s provided another opportunity to Wrexham’s League One keeper Arthur Okonkwo. At just 24 years old, the former Arsenal youth is one of the most promising keepers in the league. He’s kept three clean sheets, including two back-to-back in his last couple of games and sits on 0.74 goals prevented.

Callum Burton is third choice and his two appearances this season have come in the Carabao Cup which Wrexham exited to Cardiff in the last round.

Defenders

Parkinson has opted for a consistent back three consisting of a Wrexham youth product and two very experienced Championship defenders.

Max Cleworth is still just 23 years of age but has chalked up 152 appearances for the Red Dragons. He’s one of the top defenders in the league this season with 35 tackles and interceptions combined. Cleworth usually lines up on the right side, given his ability to also cover right-back.

In the middle is Dan Scarr who has only recently reclaimed his place in the side and started playing consistently.

Someone who has been playing regularly is former Blackburn man Dominic Hyam, who joined towards the end of the summer window. The 29-year-old has 220 Championship appearances to his name and should prove to be a very shrewd signing.

Those three are keeping out Conor Coady, who was one of Wrexham’s statement summer signings from Leicester, but perhaps now lacks the mobility. He’s been an unused sub in the last six league games but did get some minutes in the Carabao Cup against Cardiff.

George Thomason is maybe a lesser-known summer signing from Bolton but also started at centre-back in that game, showing his versatility as he’s usually a defensive midfielder.

Lewis Brunt and Aaron James are both out injured, which leaves Callum Doyle as the other centre-back option. Like Coady, Wrexham spent big on him this summer but again like Coady he’s not really lived up to his price tag yet with some underwhelming performances ending with a straight red card against Oxford.

Now we move on to wing-backs. Starting against Charlton were Issa Kabore and Ryan Longman. Kabore is on loan from Manchester City and at the age of 24 has 52 appearances for Burkina Faso. Prior to Wrexham, he spent time on loan at Werder Bremen, Benfica, Luton, and Marseille. He has three assists already this season.

Longman rotated in on the left-hand side against Charlton. The former Hull and Millwall man can cover either wing-back role and is less explosive than Kabore but can be relied on to put in 7/10 performances most weeks.

The man he replaced was New Zealander Liberato Cacace, who was a regular for Serie A side Empoli in the 2024/25 season but has struggled to get up to speed with the physicality of the Championship.

Ryan Barnett has been with Wrexham since 2023 and provides the back-up at right wing-back whilst experienced Irishman James McClean has been moved further back as his career has gone on and is largely a rotation option at left wing-back these days.

Midfielders

If you’ve been reading these blogs for a long time now or following me on socials, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Ben Sheaf. His signing in the summer represented a big coup and I was surprised at the time that Coventry made the sale. He is the definition of an all-round midfielder, good on the ball, good in the tackle and brings experience and leadership, whilst also having a tendency to score a long-range screamer here and there.

He was alongside the aforementioned Thomason and George Dobson in midfield against Charlton as Dobson paid a visit to his previous club. At 28 years old it’s his first taste of Championship football having spent the majority of his career in the lower tiers and it’s a step up that he has taken in his stride.

Experienced former Leicester man Matty James is also an option in there as is Oliver Rathbone, who is slowly being integrated back into the squad following his return from injury. He scored eight goals in League One last season.

Another member of the Wrexham squad who has been around for a while is Elliott Lee, but he’s been limited to cup appearances this season.

The last player to mention in the midfield section is Lewis O’Brien, who, after four separate loan spells away from Nottingham Forest, is finally looking for consistent football having only made 17 appearances for the Premier League side. He has made 12 starts, scoring three times and assisting twice, as the most advanced member of a midfield three.

Forwards

Nathan Broadhead just off of Kieffer Moore will be a familiar sight to Town fans whilst the Welsh double act playing a crucial role in the Super Blues promotion to the Premier League.

They’re now playing together again in Wales and Moore is on fire. His perfect hat-trick against Coventry put him onto seven goals for the season, but he has pulled out of Wales duty with an injury that he picked up very late on in the Charlton match.

The match against the Addicks was only Broadhead’s third start, but he has found the net twice in those with an additional nine appearances off the bench.

The main reason Broadhead hasn’t started many games is the form of Josh Windass, who was part of the summer Sheffield Wednesday exodus.

He is the perfect complement to Moore’s physicality with ability to run the channels and press high, something that is not Broadhead’s strong suit. He’s also a fox in the box finisher and has five goals in addition to contributing all three of the assists for Moore’s Coventry hat-tricks.

Depending on the seriousness of Moore’s injury, Town could well end up facing one Wrexham’s other strikers instead. Sam Smith and Ryan Hardie are the men fighting for the shirt.

Smith is the closest to a like-for-like replacement for Moore in terms of getting about the pitch, but Hardie is a man who knows where the back of the net is. The problem for both of them is their lack of game time. Smith has 13 apperances, all from the bench, whilst Hardie has just four with two of them being starts.

Smith has one goal in the league and one in the cup, whilst Hardie has just the one Carabao Cup goal, which means it’s clear to see that there is a distinct drop off if Moore is not fit.

Jay Rodriguez is also a part of the squad but is currently out injured.

The Teams

Kieran McKenna has utilised the squad over periods with lots of games in them and this is yet another one of those. Given Wrexham are likely to operate with another back five, I think it’s likely the beneficiaries against Swansea, Jacob Greaves, Jack Clarke and Kasey McAteer, are likely to benefit again with back-to-back starts, while Jens Cajuste could come into midfield to provide some dynamism.

For Wrexham, the back five are likely to remain unchanged, but O’Brien or James could come into midfield. If Moore is out injured, I think that Parkinson may go strikerless with Nathan Broadhead and O’Brien playing behind Windass.

Prediction

For me, this one has banana skin written all over it. If Moore is fit enough to start, I think it could end in a score draw. If not, then Town may just have enough to edge it. I’m going to go with a 2-2 draw.

Blogs 297 bloggers