Wrexham may be firmly involved in the League One title race, but they need to improve in one area from here on out if they want to stay in the fight.
It has been a terrific season for Wrexham on their return to the third tier, with the Red Dragons gunning for a third-successive promotion.
Phil Parkinson’s men go into Thursday’s game with Shrewsbury Town in third place, behind Wycombe Wanderers on goal difference, while Birmingham City are two points clear with two games in hand.
While January additions will be crucial to Wrexham’s promotion hopes, they can make a big signal of intent with a win against Shrewsbury this week and begin to overturn one of their major weaknesses.
Shrewsbury’s poor home form can give Wrexham a big win this week
Shrewsbury head into the home tie with Wrexham in the relegation zone, with 17 points from 24 games leaving Gareth Ainsworth’s side in 22nd place in the League One table.
The most worrying thing for the Shrews is their home form, which could well cost them dearly in their fight for survival this season. They have won just three of their 12 home games this term, losing seven and drawing two.
Granted, one of those two wins was an impressive 3-2 victory over league leaders Birmingham at the end of November, but that was very much an anomaly of a result for both sides.
Shrewsbury’s most recent defeat at home was a 4-1 demolition job by Wycombe exactly a month ago, and Wrexham will need to show that same level of ruthlessness to reverse their fortunes on the road and put pressure on at the top of the league.
| Team | Played | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shrewsbury (home form) | 12 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 11 |
| Wrexham (away form) | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 |
Wrexham lag behind their promotion rivals when it comes to away form, gaining just 13 points from 11 games on their travels, including just three wins. If ever there was a time to improve that record, this away day at Shrewsbury has to be the turning point.
Ruthless Wrexham needed from here on out as title race intensifies
Wrexham can put on a big signal of their intent on Thursday night, by taking a leaf out of Wycombe’s book and delivering a killer blow to Shrewsbury. Ultimately, the Red Dragons’ attack has to be clinical, and this could be a great chance for Paul Mullin to add to his flailing tally.
With Birmingham and Wycombe both not playing until Saturday, Wrexham can go top of the table with a win at Croud Meadow this week, and the psychological advantage of that could be huge.
Simply put, Wrexham cannot afford to drop points in games like this if they want to keep up with Birmingham. Just last month, Bristol Rovers and Cambridge frustrated Wrexham, with the relegation-battlers both claiming draws.
That kind of weakness cannot creep into Parkinson’s team from here on out, and whatever Wrexham lineup he goes for on Thursday will need to assert their dominance quickly to settle those away day nerves.