Wrexham Still Have 58% Chance Of Promotion Despite Humiliating Defeat

Wrexham broke records as they won promotion from the National League last season. This season, though, has been more of a struggle for the Hollywood-backed club.

Phil Parkinson’s side have won just four of the nine League Two matches they have played this season with Saturday’s 5-0 thumping at the hands of Stockport County raising doubts over Wrexham’s chances of another promotion.

But UK betting sites still have Wrexham priced as second favourites at 8/11 (57.9% likelihood) behind Notts County to be promoted from League Two this season.

The two clubs went head-to-head for the National League title last season, but Wrexham already trail Notts County, who have lost just one of their opening nine fixtures, by five points.

Defensive Vulnerability Harming Wrexham’s Promotion Hopes

While Wrexham have demonstrated their attacking strength over their first nine games in League Two this season, they have also shown how vulnerable they can be in defence.

Indeed, Wrexham have conceded a staggering 20 goals in just nine fixtures. 

No team in League Two has conceded more at this stage of the season. This defensive record is unsustainable and puts pressure on the attack to keep delivering.

Wrexham have conceded five goals in a match on three separate occasions (against MK Dons, Swindon Town and Stockport County) this season. 

Parkinson’s team have kept just two clean sheets (against Tranmere Rovers and Grimsby Town) in nine attempts.

Four wins and three draws in nine matches has still been enough to position Wrexham in the play-off places, but they must tighten up at the back if they are to stand any chance of challenging for the title.

Crewe Alexandra have scored 21 goals in just nine matches this season and so they will present a strong test to Wrexham on Saturday at the Racecourse Ground. 

The visitors are priced at 13/2 by football betting sites to claim all three points and are priced at 10/1 by Coral to score over 2.5 goals.

Paul Mullin Return Will Bring More Than Goals 

Paul Mullin missed Wrexham’s first six fixtures of the season after suffering a punctured lung in a pre-season friendly match against Manchester United in San Diego.

The 28-year-old has been eased into action over the last few weeks with Mullin starting the 3-0 home win over Grimsby Town and last weekend’s shock 5-0 defeat to Stockport County. 

Mullin netted an incredible 32 goals in just 46 league games for Wrexham last season, but he has yet to get off the mark for the 2023/24 campaign.

The striker’s return to fitness will give Wrexham more than just additional firepower in the attacking third, it will give Parkinson’s team greater balance.

Coral have priced Mullin at 20/1 to finish as League Two’s top scorer this season with Notts County’s Macauley Langstaff priced as the favourite at 6/1.

Wrexham Have A Tough Run Of Fixtures

After an unbeaten run of seven league matches, Wrexham now face a potential defining set of fixtures in their season.

This weekend will see the National League champions take on Crewe Alexandra with the visitors to the Racecourse Ground sitting one point above Wrexham in sixth place.

Crewe will pose a threat to the vulnerable Wrexham defence - they have scored two or more goals in 11 of their last 12 League Two outings.

Everything points to Saturday’s match being a high-scoring affair with over 2.5 goals scored in 11 of Crewe’s last 12 league games. On top of this, the over 2.5 goals punt has landed with betting apps in Wrexham’s last three league matches.

After this weekend’s meeting with Crewe Alexandra, Wrexham will travel to Field Mill to face Mansfield Town who currently sit in third place, two points above the National League winners. 

As if this wasn’t a challenging enough doubleheader, Wrexham will face an away match against fourth-place Crawley Town after that, making this run of games a real test of their credentials as a promotion-chasing contender. 

If Wrexham can make it through this stretch without suffering some of the issues that have held them back over the early part of the season, they will start to grow into their status as one of the favourites with Bet365 for League Two promotion.