- Stoke have won six, drawn four and lost 11 of their 21 Championship away matches.
- Wrexham have won nine, drawn six and lost six of their 21 home games in the Championship.
- Josh Windass has scored 12 Championship goals for Wrexham, more than any other Red Dragons player.
Tactical battle in store between two different types of teams
Wrexham will be favourites to win at home when Stoke come to the Racecourse on Saturday and that looks the right result given the hosts’ overall home form and the Potters’ away form in the Championship this season.
The two clubs are separated by seven places and nine points in the table with Wrexham sitting seventh with 64 points from 42 games and Stoke 16th with 55 points from the same number of matches.
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson is a pragmatic manager with a structure-first approach, although he is always flexible and has played his side in either a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 this season. Parkinson uses a back-three system in those setups and his use of wing-backs ensures the team is compact and dangerous on the counter-attack.
Stoke, on the other hand, are more of a possession-based side with four at the back and their coach Mark Robins has instilled a philosophy of midfield control and pressing from the front since his arrival at the bet365 Stadium in January.
Red Dragons have the momentum to edge a lively encounter
Wrexham have won one, drawn one and lost three of their last five and are due a bounce-back performance after back-to-back defeats. Parkinson’s side lost 1-5 at home to Southampton and followed that up with a 2-0 loss at Birmingham City in their last away game.
Stoke are in indifferent form with two wins, one draw and two losses in their last five, but their away form has been an issue for most of the campaign. Robins has made them a much more balanced side and good in transition with the wingers getting into some good positions, but the Potters have failed to win their last two away matches, losing both.
These two sides are such a different proposition in terms of tactics that this could be a real chess match, but Stoke may not have enough quality to out-pass Wrexham or have the pace to break through their compact back three.
A high-scoring contest is expected, however, with the odds of 4/5 about the overs in this spot very fair and 3/4 on both teams to score equally tempting. Wrexham average 1.76 goals per game at home in the Championship, having scored 37 in 21 matches at the Racecourse.
Stoke have struggled to score away from home
Stoke have managed just 17 goals in 21 away matches this term, so Stoke will fancy their chances of scoring too.
Josh Windass is Wrexham’s top scorer with 12 in the Championship and has scored three of his side’s last six goals, while Sorba Thomas tops the table for Stoke with ten in 41 appearances. His pace and ability to cut inside are a real threat to any defence and will be tested by Wrexham’s wing-backs on Saturday.
The hosts are favourites at 69/100 to edge a game that Stoke will be desperate to avoid losing, but given their away record and the Red Dragons’ solid home form, we like the odds of Wrexham getting the win here.
