Wrexham will need all the help they can get to pick up a result against Birmingham City on Thursday night, and they’ve just been given a potential advantage ahead of the game.
After defeat to Shrewsbury Town last week, Wrexham find themselves in a slightly precarious position in the League One title race.
Phil Parkinson’s side are now three points behind second-placed Wycombe Wanderers, and five behind Birmingham (who also have two games in hand). Meanwhile, Huddersfield remain genuine contenders, and could overtake Wrexham if they win their game in hand.
Suffice to say, Parkinson was not happy after the defeat against Shrewsbury, and the Red Dragons will need to get back to their best quickly if they want to stay in this title fight.
Paik Seung-ho could miss Wrexham game
Birmingham stand out as the best team in the division, but the Blues will seemingly have to travel to the Racecourse Ground without one of their most talented players.
Speaking to the press (via the Birmingham Mail), manager Chris Davies revealed he expects Paik Seung-ho to miss the game against Wrexham due to injury, having not featured at the weekend.
Davies said: “He wasn’t too close. He’s been struggling with a niggle so it looks like he will be a little while yet. It’s nothing long-term, day by day we’ll assess it, but it looks like it could be a week or two.
“It’s disappointing because he’s obviously been a key player for us, with Iwata, and it was a different look to the midfield today.”
Of course, Birmingham have arguably the best squad in the league, and have plenty of players they can call upon to replace Paik. But, missing a player of his quality will always be a blow for any team.
Birmingham City game becomes most important of the season for Wrexham
As the title race developed this season, it became clear that this upcoming fixture would be vitally important to the final standings come the end of the campaign.
But now, after the loss against Shrewsbury, this game becomes an absolute must-win for Wrexham, at least if they want to stay in contention for automatic promotion.
Parkinson will need to get his tactics right, and the Wrexham players — who were all so disappointing on Thursday — will have to pull their socks up and show something entirely different in this huge test.
If the Red Dragons lose this game, it is not exaggerating to say that Birmingham will be all-but out of sight, and Wrexham would probably have to settle for a play-off spot this season.
Simply put, Wrexham cannot afford to drop points again. On the other hand, if they can beat Birmingham and dent their title hopes, the momentum swing in Wrexham’s favour could be immense, and could change the course of the season entirely.