Wrexham

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Ollie Rathbone says he is proud of the way he has returned to action for Wrexham following a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury.

The midfielder sustained a serious ankle injury in pre-season and - following numerous setbacks during his recovery - did not feature in any of his side's opening 20 league games of the season.

But since making his first Championship appearance of the campaign against Watford on 13 December - a game in which he scored a last-gasp equaliser - Rathbone has featured in 22 successive league matches for Wrexham.

"I'm really proud of myself for how I've reacted to that huge setback because it was a proper sickener for a while," he said.

"I've been really building myself back up and then had a few setbacks along the way.

"To come back in the team and stay in the team and play every game from when I returned is something I'm quite proud of."

Rathbone has contributed seven goals across all competitions since returning from injury.

And the 29-year-old says his sole focus now lies on helping Wrexham revive their play-off hopes - starting against Stoke City at Stok Cae Ras on Saturday (15:00 BST).

"I didn't get back into the team until December and I've played every game since, so I've been really happy with that," he added.

"I've managed to stay fit, which is what I wanted when I had that big setback at the start of the season. So hopefully I have a strong finish to the season."

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Wrexham will assess Nathan Broadhead ahead of Saturday's contest with Stoke City (15:00 BST), although Zak Vyner will miss the fixture with the Potters.

Attacker Broadhead - who came off the bench in the 63rd minute of his side's 2-0 loss to Birmingham City on Sunday - is struggling with a tight hamstring.

As for Vyner, the defender was not included in the matchday squad for Wrexham's trip to St Andrew's last time out.

"Broady's got a bit of a tight hamstring, so we're just going to review that up to the weekend," manager Phil Parkinson said.

"Zak Vyner has got to re-scan his groin tomorrow (Friday). Zak won't make the weekend, 100%. He's feeling a lot better, but that'll be too soon.

"Nathan, we'll assess him very close to kick-off."

Matty James has featured in his side's defeats by Southampton and Birmingham since recovering from the toe injury that kept him sidelined for two months.

He is in contention to feature against Stoke at Stok Cae Ras this weekend, although fellow central midfielder Ben Sheaf remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from a knee injury.

"Matty was never going to play more than 60 minutes at the weekend, but he's fine," added Parkinson.

"Ben is still not with us on the training pitch. He has had some training but he's got a minor setback."

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Stoke City will hope to officially confirm their status as a Championship club for another season when they visit Wrexham on Saturday (kick-off 15:00 BST).

The Potters are 11 points clear of the relegation zone with four games to play and need a win to guarantee survival - or for either Blackburn to lose or Oxford to fail to win.

The Red Dragons are looking for a victory to keep them in the hunt for a play-off place as they start the weekend four points behind sixth-placed Hull City.

• Wrexham have lost 12 of their 13 league games against Stoke, with a 3-1 away win in February 1999 the only exception.

• Stoke have won all six of their away league games against Wrexham, with this their first visit since November 2001. It's the joint-best 100% away win rate one side has against another in English Football League history (Northampton also 6/6 at Dagenham & Redbridge).

• Wrexham have lost their past two league games, and could lose three in a row for the first time since February 2024 when they were in League Two.

• Stoke are on a five-game losing run away from home in the Championship, and have not lost six consecutive away league games since between January and March 2013, when they were in the Premier League.

• Josh Windass has netted 12 league goals for Wrexham this season, just one shy of equalling his most in a single Championship campaign (13 in 44 games for Sheffield Wednesday in 2024-25).

Craig Levein and Amy Irons talk to the man Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds hired to be the 'adult in the room' at their Wrexham project.

Shaun Harvey has been right at the heart of everything the Hollywood duo have done in Wales.

The former EFL chief executive and current Wrexham director joins us for a straight‑talking look at why this campaign has gone well beyond outside expectations.

Away from the Wrexham story, Harvey reflects on setting targets without boxing players in, why belief inside a club matters more than noise from the outside, and how experience and planning can ride out injuries, pressure and scrutiny.

Drawing on years at the top of the game, he opens up on managing expectations, earning success the hard way and what it really takes to keep a football club moving forward when everyone is watching.

Image source, PA Media

Phil Parkinson says Wrexham must get "our own house in order" rather than focusing on results elsewhere over the remainder of their run-in.

The Red Dragons sit four points adrift of the Championship play-off places with just four matches of the regular season left to play.

And having failed to capitalise on Hull City's 2-1 loss to Sheffield United at the weekend, Parkinson stressed that Wrexham's focus must be on returning to winning ways having suffered back-to-back defeats by Southampton and Birmingham City.

"We need to look closely at all the players to see who is ready to take the challenge on of Stoke City at home next week," the Wrexham manager said.

"The message is going to be this week that we need to get back to getting the balance right in our play and do better than we've done in the last two games. I think that's as simple as that. That's whatever personnel is on the pitch.

"First and foremost, before we think about anyone else's results, we've got to get our own house in order and give ourselves a chance to start with next week."

Wrexham's remaining fixtures

Wrexham v Stoke City - Saturday, 18 April (15:00 BST)

Oxford United v Wrexham - Tuesday, 21 April (19:45 BST)

Coventry City v Wrexham - Sunday, 26 April (12:00 BST)

Wrexham v Middlesbrough - Saturday, 2 May (12:30 BST)

Image source, PA Media

Waynne Phillips says it will take "something special" for Wrexham to end the season in the Championship play-offs.

The Red Dragons sit four points adrift of the top six with just four matches left to play following back-to-back losses to Southampton and Birmingham City.

Despite their play-off destiny now being out of their own hands, former Wrexham midfielder Phillips feels that Phil Parkinson's men, along with eighth-placed Derby County, are not out of the running just yet.

"It's going to take something special to finish in the top six. Hull are there at the moment," he told BBC Radio Cymru's Dros Frecwast.

"Wrexham, and Derby who are a point below Wrexham, will still believe that it's possible, and it is possible until it's mathematically impossible.

"It's a poor run at such an important point of the season, they've lost four of their last seven games.

"It would be really disappointing if the season just fizzled out as we've seen so many good things from Wrexham this season.

"But they should keep the faith and take it one game at a time."

Wrexham return to action at Stok Cae Ras on Saturday against a Stoke City side who have lost five consecutive away league games.

And Phillips believes the play-off picture could change once again at the weekend as Hull City host Birmingham at the same time Wrexham face the Potters.

"It's possible that the picture will change again on Saturday, Hull could lose and Wrexham could win at the Stok Cae Ras and suddenly everyone would think it's possible again," added Phillips.

Wrexham's Championship play-off hopes were heavily dented as they suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since the opening two games of the 2025-26 campaign.

Phil Parkinson's outfit were thrashed 5-1 by Southampton and were then beaten 2-0 by Birmingham City.

It leaves the Red Dragons four points behind sixth-placed Hull City with just four matches remaining this season.

So we're asking Wrexham fans, do you think the Red Dragons will make the play-offs, or have they left themselves with too much to do?

Give us your verdict here.

Abi Cole
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Getty Images

Phil Parkinson says Wrexham must use their strong away form as the platform for a response when they face Birmingham City on Sunday (12:00 BST) in the Championship.

The Red Dragons travel to St Andrew's for what Parkinson described as "a massive game for obvious reasons", with Wrexham still chasing promotion.

Wrexham head into the weekend looking to recover from Tuesday night's heavy home defeat to Southampton, a result which saw them drop out of the play-off places after the Saints moved above them into sixth.

The 5-1 loss was Wrexham's heaviest of the season and their worst at home since the 7-2 defeat by Gateshead in 2011, with Parkinson admitting afterwards his side must get "back to basics" defensively.

But while the Southampton result was a major setback, Parkinson's message before the trip to Birmingham was that it cannot be allowed to overshadow the work Wrexham have done away from home this season.

Parkinson said Birmingham's recent run should not be taken lightly, despite a dip in results that has seen them lose their last three league games.

"They were probably really disappointed not to get at least a point last time out," he said of Birmingham's defeat by Ipswich.

"I think the Ipswich game was very competitive and [they were] unlucky not to get something from it."

Parkinson says his focus, however, is firmly on Wrexham's own standards after Tuesday's loss, with the priority now an improvement "all over the pitch" rather than becoming too distracted by Birmingham's form.

He believes there is enough evidence in Wrexham's recent away performances to suggest they can produce a response.

"Our away form's been brilliant apart from the Watford game," he said.

"We've done really well on our travels and it's making sure that we don't let Tuesday detract from that."

Image source, Getty Images

The EFL has announced the fixtures for the 2026-27 season will be published at midday on Thursday, 25 June.

The first-round draws for the Carabao Cup and the Vertu Trophy will be made on the same day.

The new season will kick off on the weekend of August 7-9 with the first round of the Carabao Cup, and the opening fixtures in the Championship, League One and League Two will follow a week later on 14-16 August.

The first round of the Vertu Trophy will be played in the week commencing 21 September.

Wrexham will be hoping to return to the Championship play-off places when they visit Birmingham City on Sunday (12:00 BST).

Phil Parkinson's side have a chance to regain sixth place if rivals Southampton fail to win on Saturday.

Blues have proven to be a difficult side to beat for Wrexham in recent history but their fellow promoted club have not risen to the challenge of the Championship quite as they would have liked, losing their past three league games to fall to 16th.

• Since losing their first-ever league meeting with Wrexham in October 1979, Birmingham are now unbeaten in their past six against them (W3 D3).

• All three of Wrexham's league defeats against Birmingham have come in their three visits to St Andrew's, with the Red Dragons conceding 10 goals in the process.

• Birmingham City have picked up just four points in their past eight league games (W1 D1 L6), finding the net just four times in that run. At home, they have lost two of their past four (W1 D1), more than in their previous 41 combined (W29 D11 L1).

• Wrexham have won eight of their 20 away Championship games this season (D7 L5) and are only the third newly promoted side in the past eight seasons to achieve that total, along with Sunderland in the 2022-23 season (11) and Ipswich Town in the 2023-24 campaign (12).

• In the past two seasons, only Finn Azaz (41 - 23 goals, 18 assists) has been involved in more Championship goals than Josh Windass (35 - 25 goals, 10 assists), with the Wrexham man scoring 12 goals and assisting five this season.