The League One promotion race is hotting up, and the games that take place this Tuesday night could have a massive say in how the final table shapes up.
Wrexham overcame perhaps their toughest test of the season last week, grinding out a 1-1 draw with promotion rivals Birmingham City at the Racecourse Ground.
While the result didn’t close the gap on the league leaders, avoiding defeat was the most important thing for Phil Parkinson’s side and stands them in good stead for the rest of the season.
Naturally, the Wrexham lineup for the Stevenage Town clash on Tuesday night will be firmly focused on the task at hand. But, big things will be happening elsewhere in League One that night.
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Wrexham need Birmingham to beat Huddersfield, but title may be out of sight
While Wrexham slug it out with Stevenage, league leaders Birmingham will be taking on Huddersfield Town in a real promotion six-pointer.
The Blues may be setting the pace right now, but Michael Duff’s Huddersfield are gaining on the top three and Wrexham must surely be looking nervously over their shoulders now.
Huddersfield are just four points behind the Red Dragons with a game in hand right now. So, while the idea of Birmingham continuing their charge for the title may not be desirable, if Wrexham can win on Tuesday and Huddersfield lose, it’ll give some real breathing space between the top three and the rest of the contenders.
| Pos. | Team | Played | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 25 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 25 | 57 |
| 2 | Wycombe | 27 | 16 | 7 | 4 | 24 | 55 |
| 3 | Wrexham | 27 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 52 |
| 4 | Huddersfield | 26 | 14 | 6 | 6 | 17 | 48 |
The problem is, as the season goes on, Birmingham look less and less likely to slip up. Chris Davies’ side are still five points clear of Wrexham, and have two games in hand. By beating Huddersfield this week, the Blues will pass yet another stern test, and could have a clear path ahead for the rest of the season.
It’s a bit of a lose-lose situation for Wrexham watching these two teams go head-to-head. Sure, a draw would be a fine result and potentially close the gap at the top, but it also keeps Huddersfield in the fight.
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Barnsley can also do Wrexham a favour by beating Wycombe Wanderers
At this point, given their games in hand and the fact Wrexham have now missed their chance to defeat Birmingham, surely the Red Dragons have to look at second-placed Wycombe as the team to beat in the promotion race.
After all, getting promotion this season wasn’t even on the cards, never mind a title challenge, so finishing second would be a huge success for Wrexham.
With this in mind, Wrexham will be looking to Barnsley to pick up a result away at Wycombe on Tuesday night, too. That, twinned with a Wrexham win, would leave both teams on 55 points, and with Wycombe losing their manager recently, you have to feel the momentum can go the way of the Welsh outfit.
The League One promotion race has been enthralling so far, but this week promises to be potentially the biggest week of them all, and Wrexham will be hoping all the results go their way.