- Middlesbrough form: Middlesbrough are winless in their last five, with three draws and two defeats
- Wrexham form: Wrexham have two wins, two draws and one defeat from their last five, with a victory away to Leeds United
- Head-to-head: The head-to-head record is close with a 2-2 draw at Wrexham last season and both of the last two meetings finishing tied
Close cup game with both teams in reasonable form
Odds and expectations
With Boro hosting at Riverside Stadium for Friday's EFL Cup 2026-2027 clash, the odds are fairly straightforward with the Championship hosts set at 1.75, the League Two visitors at 4.2 and the draw at 3.8. However, our view is that the draw could be a live option in this game as the League Two side are certainly not walkovers and have momentum heading into this one following their 3-2 win away to Championship promotion chasers Leeds United, before a 1-0 defeat at Liverpool yesterday.
Wrexham tactics
Phil Parkinson has set up Wrexham in a compact back five, using their structure to apply selective pressure, clogging the channels and springing forwards on the counter. They can be very dangerous on the break and should look to do enough to keep this close and steal the momentum on a counterattack if Boro take the lead.
Boro’s style doesn’t suit the Red Dragons
Kim Hellberg has Middlesbrough operating in a more fluid, open system that suits the ball more and is probably not ideal against a Wrexham side that will disrupt the passing lines and look to disrupt their game plan.
The hosts are operating a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with high pressing, inverted full-backs and fast vertical combinations to get the ball forward quickly. Boro are not in the best form as of now, with a 2-1 defeat to Southampton in extra-time, a 1-0 loss to Hull City and a 1-1 draw away to Celtic in their three most recent matches.
Across all competitions, Boro have 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat in their last four at home, scoring 1.50 goals and conceding 0.50 per game, while Wrexham have three wins, one draw and three defeats from seven away fixtures in all competitions, averaging just 0.86 goals per game on the road.
Both teams to score looks a good starting point
Both of these sides are capable of scoring and both have been involved in open games recently, so that looks a great starting point for the main bet.
The market is 1.7 and Over 2.5 goals is 1.75, but both of those should definitely be left alone as Wrexham have averaged 0.86 goals per road game this season and this game is more likely to be in the 2-1 area for Boro, but with both sides to get on the scoresheet.
- David Strelec has been Boro's chief goal threat this season, scoring two of their four goals across the last five games, while Sam Smith has been Wrexham's hot hand, with three of their six goals across the same number of matches.
- Boro should have the quality to edge it, but they failed to win their last home game against Wrexham and it could be close, with a narrow Boro win and both sides on the board looking the sharpest angle.
