Wrexham vs Wigan Athletic – likely lineups

Wrexham will make their first EFL Cup appearance since 2007 when they host Wigan Athletic at the Racecourse on Tuesday 8 August.

The Red Dragons returned to the Football League with a disappointing loss to MK Dons and Wigan started their League One campaign with a narrow win. Kick-off Wrexham – Wigan Athletic at 21:00.

Wrexham vs Wigan Athletic match preview, what stage are the two teams in

Wrexham

Ending a 15-year exile from the Football League with a memorable campaign in the National League, Wrexham entered League Two of the 2023–24 season as clear favorites to progress to the third tier.

However, in the first season against the recently relegated MK Dons, Wrexham quickly realized that the promotion would not be easy.

Goals from Jacob Mendy, Jordan Davis and Anthony Ford were ultimately for naught as MK Dons showed off his firepower to doom Wrexham for a 5-3 defeat in a spectacular match.

Wrexham are now looking to bounce back midweek when they play their first EFL Cup match since a 5-0 second round defeat to Aston Villa in August 2007.

While Wrexham will miss working against a top tier team, they can draw inspiration from the fact that they have won their last two first round matches in the competition.

Wigan Athletic

After being relegated from the league due to financial problems, Wigan started the season with eight penalty points.

However, he had already reduced his debt after a double from Charlie Wike led the Latics to an impressive 2-1 victory over Derby County at Pride Park.

While Saturday’s game against Northampton Town will be a priority, Wigan boss Sean Maloney will want his team to beat Wrexham in the EFL Cup as the Latics look to pick up momentum in the early stages of the campaign.

Their recent form in the competition is not very encouraging as they have failed to make it past the first round in four of the last five seasons.

Wrexham have also lost seven of their last eight EFL Cup away games and their only positive result in this period came in August 2021 when they beat Hull City on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

News from teams

Wrexham will not be able to count on their talisman striker Paul Mullin, who punctured his lung in a friendly against Manchester United last month.

With his move from Wigan completed, James McLean could make his Wrexham debut against his former club.

Parkinson might also be tempted to make some changes to the game midweek as Mark Howard, Ollie Palmer, Davis and Ford battle for starting spots.

On the away side, experienced goalkeeper Ben Amos could replace Sam Tickle in goal midweek.

Maloney could present summer signings for Kell Watts and James Balajisi on loan from Newcastle United and Liverpool respectively.

Scott Smith may also have an opportunity to impress the Wigan boss after coming on as a substitute in Saturday’s win over Derby.

Possible lineups Wrexham vs Wigan Athletic

Possible Wrexham starting XI:
Howards; O’Connell, Tozer, O’Connor; Ford, Jones, Lee, Mendy; Davis; Palmer, Dolby

Possible starting XI for Wigan Athletic:
tickle; Claire, Hughes, Watts, Pierce; S. Smith, M. Smith; Lang, Balagizi, McManaman; wyke

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