Wrexham take on Shrewsbury Town on Thursday night with Phil Parkinson looking for another victory over the Shrews.
Wrexham fans have been starved of action of late.
Last week’s EFL Trophy clash Port Vale was postponed whilst Wrexham’s trip to Reading had already been axed.
It’s now more than a week since Wrexham beat Peterborough United, with this break allowing Phil Parkinson’s star men to recharge.
Wrexham will be looking for another win over Shrewsbury having beaten the Shrews 3-0 earlier this season and 1-0 in the FA Cup back in January 2024.
Jack Marriott has learned about Wrexham’s rivalry with Shrewsbury and a win on Thursday night would be the ideal way to come back from this break.
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Whilst Wrexham are eyeing promotion to the Championship, Shrewsbury need the points for a very different reason.
Shrewsbury are mired in the League One relegation zone and are eight points adrift of safety.
Relegation to League Two is a real fear for Shrewsbury despite becoming a little harder to beat under Gareth Ainsworth.
Ainsworth has now spoken to the media about Thursday’s game and pointed to Wrexham’s spending under Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.
McElhenney and Reynolds bought Wrexham in 2021 and have backed the club handsomely with funding for key signings.
Ainsworth has told Shrewsbury’s official YouTube channel that Wrexham are the ‘noisy neighbours’ who provide a strong test.
Ainsworth was blown away by speculation linking Patrick Bamford with Wrexham, believing that targeting that kind of player in League One makes you a ‘club club’.
The former QPR boss noted that Wrexham have spent a ‘hell of a lot of money’ but vowed to make Thursday’s game a real battle.
“I’m excited, it’s under the lights, on Sky, can’t wait for it,” said Ainsworth.
“It’s going to be a big game, and this is why you’re a footballer, this is why you’re in the game – for moments like this, for games like this… it’s exciting.
“Obviously, the noisy neighbours are coming to Croud Meadow and we don’t want to make it easy for them, we want to make it difficult for them, so we’re preparing to put a plan in place but also we’re very aware of where they are in the league, what players they’ve recruited, what they are in this league.
“They’re a very powerful side, they’ve spent a hell of a lot of money to get where they are, so we’re going to have to be at our best to compete with them.
“They’re a very strong side, they’ve got some household names in their team and they’ve been linked with ridiculous names. I heard Patrick Bamford come out the other day and Michael Smith and people like that, and I’m thinking ‘wow’.
“What it does is it really elevates League One to such a brilliant level, and we’re in League One, I want to stay in League One because once you start talking about those sorts of names coming into your club… wow, you’re a big club,” he added.
Shrewsbury Town lose key player ahead of Wrexham clash
Shrewsbury will be preparing for Thursday’s clash but are seeing a number of players move on ahead of the game.
Ainsworth is revamping his squad with Jordan Rossiter joining Oldham Athletic and both Charles Sagoe Jr and Joshua Kayode having their loans terminated.
Captain Carl Winchester could miss the Wrexham clash as he seeks a move to Northern Ireland and one key exit has now been confirmed.
Shrewsbury have announced the sale of forward Tom Bloxham as he moves to League One rivals Blackpool.
Losing Bloxham just 48 hours before facing Wrexham is hardly the news Shrewsbury fans wanted to hear and Ainsworth’s squad is certainly losing depth ahead of the game.
Wrexham must still turn up and show a top performance as anything can happen in derby games with Parkinson no doubt hammering home that his players should not take Shrewsbury lightly.