Championship Wrexham welcome Premier League Nottingham Forest to the Racecourse Ground on Friday night in the third round of the FA Cup.
Nottingham Forest gave their survival hopes in the Premier League a real boost on Tuesday night, as they came from a goal down to win 1-2 away at relegation rivals West Ham, moving them seven points clear of the Hammers.
Prior to that win in East London, Sean Dyche’s men had lost four on the bounce in the Premier League, with their 3-1 defeat away at Aston Villa last Saturday seeing all three of my selections land.
Wrexham ended a five-game winless streak in the Championship on Boxing Day, as they defeated resurgent Sheffield United 5-3 on home soil.
Phil Parkinson’s hosts have backed that entertaining win at home to the Blades by defeating Preston 2-1 on home soil, before recording consecutive away wins at Blackburn Rovers and Derby County to move them up to ninth in the Championship table, just a point outside the relegation zone.
How the bookies view it: Forest favourites
Nottingham Forest are favourites to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup, with bet365 pricing the visitors to win inside 90 minutes at 17/20, and just 4/9 to qualify.
Wrexham are 29/10 with bet365 to win inside regulation time, but many may be more tempted with the 13/8 on offer for them to qualify.
Head to head: Rare meeting between the pair
These two clubs have not faced each other since 1993, when they met in the second round of the League Cup, with Forest prevailing 6-4 on aggregate.
Wrexham will take confidence from the fact that they knocked out their visitors in the third round of the FA Cup in 1982 at the City Ground.
Players to watch: More magic from Morgan?
Morgan Gibbs-White was the hero for Forest on Tuesday night at the London Stadium, as his late penalty gave his side all three points.
The England international has been influential once again this season for the Tricky Trees, providing nine goal contributions across his 26 appearances in league and Europe, and is an appealing 6/5 to Score or Assist on Friday night should he start.
Predicted line-ups:
Wrexham look set to be without Danny Ward, Lewis Brunt, Andy Cannon, Elliot Lee, Ryan Hardie and Kieffer Moore due to injury, whilst Issa Kabore has been away to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nottingham Forest will be without the injured John Victor, Ryan Yates and Chris Wood, whilst Ibrahim Sangare is away to AFCON.
Wrexham: Okonkwo, Cleworth, Hyam, Doyle, Longman, Windass, James, Sheaf, Thomason, Broadhead, Smith
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Luiz, Anderson, Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Bakwa, Jesus
Anything else catch the eye?
Given the form they arrive in this fixture in, Wrexham will fancy their chances of causing an upset in front of their supporters at a raucous Racecourse Ground on Friday night, and I’m expecting an entertaining cup tie.
Wrexham’s opening 13 matches at home since promotion to the Championship have averaged an eye-catching 3.31 goals per game, with Both Teams to Score paying out in an impressive 10 (77%) of them, and a repeat pays an appealing 4/5 at bet365.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
Their last three have produced a staggering 15 goals, with Over 2.5 Goals landing on each occasion (2-2, 5-3 & 2-1), and a repeat pays a juicier 10/11 at bet365.
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