Newly-promoted Wrexham will get their League One campaign underway when they welcome Wycombe Wanderers to the Racecourse Ground on Saturday.
Wrexham are competing in the third tier for the first time since 2004-05, while the visitors are featuring in their fourth consecutive League One season.
Match preview
After clinching back-to-back promotions, Wrexham will be targeting another memorable season under the ownership of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The Red Dragons collected 88 points in last season's League Two campaign to finish in second place and end their 20-year wait for League One football.
With the third tier set to provide a difficult test, Wrexham have made a number of additions ahead of the new season, recruiting Arthur Okonkwo, Callum Burton, Dan Scarr, Lewis Brunt, Sebastian Revan and George Dobson.
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson would have been encouraged by his team's results in pre-season, including draws against Bournemouth and Chelsea on their tour of the USA and Canada.
They wrapped the pre-season tour with a 4-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps, before they returned home to claim a narrow 1-0 win over Fleetwood Town, ensuring that they will take some momentum into their league opener against Wycombe.
Wycombe will expect to operate in the top half of the League One table after finishing in sixth, ninth and 10th positions over the last three seasons.
Last season's 10th-placed finish was a result of Wycombe's form in the second half of the campaign, with the Chairboys collecting 40 points from their final 23 matches.
Wycombe have added plenty of new faces to their squad since the end of last term, signing Nathan Bishop, Daniel Harvie, Alex Hartridge, Tyreeq Bakinson, Brody Peart, Daniel Udoh and Jaiden Bartolo.
Manager Matt Bloomfield will be hoping that his side can pick up from where they left off last season after finishing the 2023-24 campaign with a seven-game unbeaten run.
Although they have not faced Wrexham since March 2008, the Chairboys may still be able to draw inspiration from the fact that they have avoided defeat in each of their last four head-to-head meetings.
- W
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- L
- D
- W
- L
Team News
Wrexham are unable to call upon star striker Paul Mullin, who underwent minor surgery earlier this summer to resolve a long-term lower-back and hamstring issue.
The Red Dragons could also go into the league opener without the services of defender Jacob Mendy and forward Steven Fletcher.
Fresh from signing a new contract, James McClean is likely to line up as the left wing-back while Ryan Barnett is set to operate on the opposite flank.
Meanwhile, Bishop, Harvie, Hartridge and Bakinson are among the new signings who could make their competitive debuts for Wycombe on Saturday.
Hartridge could form a central defensive partnership with Joe Low, while Jack Grimmer and Harvie are set to operate as the two full-backs.
Richard Kone may be given the chance to lead the line, but Bloomfield does have several alternative options in Udoh, Bartolo and Sam Vokes.
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Cleworth, O'Connell, O'Connor; Barnett, Dobson, Cannon, Lee, McClean; Marriott, Dalby
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Bishop; Grimmer, Hartridge, Low, Harvie; Scowen, Butcher, Bakinson; McCleary, Sadlier, Kone
We say: Wrexham 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers
Wrexham will be keen to kick off their long-awaited League One return with a win, but we think that they will have to settle for a draw when they face a Wycombe side that are well established at this level of the English football pyramid.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
