Wrexham
- Wrexham have a good home record in the Championship this season with nine wins, six draws and six losses coming from 21 games at the Racecourse Ground.
- The Welsh Wizards are seventh in the table with 64 points from 42 games while Stoke are 16th with 55 from the same number of fixtures.
- Phil Parkinson’s team have lost their last two games - going down 1-5 at home to Southampton and 2-0 at Birmingham City - but should return to winning ways on Saturday when they take on a Stoke team that have failed to win in their last two away games, losing both.
- His Red Dragons have played with a back three all season, shifting between 3-5-2 and 3-4-3 systems, but his main focus has always been keeping a compact shape and hitting opponents on the counter-attack.
Stoke
- Stoke play with a four-man defense and a possession-oriented midfield, although Mark Robins prefers to press high up the field and doesn’t like his team to sit deep or play long ball football.
- Stoke’s form has been mixed of late with two wins, one draw and two defeats in their last five games.
- This fixture is likely to be a chess match between Parkinson’s compact block and counter attack style and Robins’ midfield control and high pressing game.
- The Welsh Wizards average 1.76 goals per game at home in the Championship, having scored 37 in 21 fixtures, while Stoke have managed only 17 in 21 away.
Key Players
- Windass is a quality finisher who can make the most of the space in behind defences when Wrexham are in transition and has scored 12 goals in the Championship, including half of their last six goals.
- The Black-and-Whites are much more balanced under Robins, who took charge in January, and have improved in transition thanks to the quality of his wide players.
Betting Insights
- We are taking over 2.5 goals at 1.8 and both teams to score at 1.75 as the main bet in this game, as both sides have enough attacking threat to create several chances.
- Wrexham are odds-on favorites at 1.69 to win this and we are keen to support them at home against a Stoke side that has struggled away from home all season.
Prediction
Wrexham should just have enough quality and home advantage to snag the win in an end-to-end contest against a Stoke side that has lost their last two away matches.
