Wrexham are known for defying the odds lately, but the Red Dragons will have to go above and beyond the latest predictions from Opta’s supercomputer if they want to have a successful season in 2025/26.
Ever since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds took over, there have been doubters putting Wrexham down and diminishing their achievements.
Four years later, though, the Red Dragons are preparing for life back in the second tier after back-to-back-to-back promotions.
Now, despite recruiting impressively this summer, Wrexham are facing the cynics once more as predictions are made for the new Championship season.
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Opta supercomputer predicts relegation battle for Wrexham
Every year, Opta runs tens of thousands of simulations through its supercomputer to determine what the final league table will look like.
Ahead of the start of the new season, the supercomputer has had its say on the 24 teams in the Championship, and it’s not looking good for Wrexham.
The good news is the Red Dragons are backed to stay in the division. The bad news is, they’ll do so by the skin of their teeth.
Opta say, “The relegation fight promises to be even less predictable than usual this season,” before placing Wrexham in 21st place in their final league table after the supercomputer’s simulations.
On Wrexham, they wrote: “Much focus, as ever, will be on Wrexham ahead of their first season back in the second tier since the 1981-82 season.
“Hollywood’s elite will be keeping an eye on things as Phil Parkinson’s side look for a fourth successive promotion, though the supercomputer is setting its sights on the other end of the table. Wrexham go down in 20.2% of sims, slightly more often than fellow promoted side Charlton Athletic (20.1%).”
Overall, Charlton do find themselves in the bottom three for Opta’s league table prediction, but it sounds like it’ll be a very close call indeed between the Addicks and Wrexham.
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Supercomputer data doesn’t factor in Wrexham’s new signings
It’s worth noting before we get angry at a computer, that these predictions and simulations are based entirely on what the computer knows at this point in time. Indeed, most of the data it works on is from last season’s performances and results rather than any current off-the-field circumstances.
So, Phil Parkinson can very easily prove the supercomputer wrong, especially given the slew of new signings Wrexham have made this summer.
Wrexham are going all out to upset the Championship, and they’ll certainly be looking to finish a lot higher up the table than 21st place.
As things stand, though, Wrexham are given just a 1.9% chance of finishing second, and a 2.7% chance of finishing in the play-offs. It will be fascinating to come back to this in a few weeks and months and see how those odds improve.