Preview: Wrexham vs Salford City – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

Nineteen years after her first and only EFL Trophy Triumph, Wrexham begin their attempt to win the 2024/25 season on Tuesday, City of Salford in their opening game of this year's tournament.

Although Phil ParkinsonThe men are yet to begin their next attempt at reaching the EFL Trophy, but they go into the midweek encounter with a lead over their League Two opponents, who lost to Port Vale in their first game in Northern Section Group B.

Game Preview

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By the time the 2024/25 EFL Trophy final rolls around, it will be two decades since Wrexham conquered the lower leagues in a knockout competition. Darren Ferguson was one of the goalscorers deep into extra time in the 2-0 win against Southend United at the Millennium Stadium.

However, the Red Dragons' title defence ended in the first round the following year and they failed to make it past the first hurdle in the next two editions before being banned from the Football League for a long time, which ended in 2023 thanks to some well-documented investment from Hollywood.

Parkinson's men only made it to the second round last year, however, where they were defeated by the superior Burton Albion. However, their early season form has given their League One rivals every reason to be optimistic about their chances of winning the title in a few months' time.

As if two consecutive promotions weren't enough, Wrexham are already threatening a third straight promotion to the higher division. With 13 of the first 15 points up for grabs in the 2024–25 League One season, the team storm to the top of the ladder after comfortably beating Shrewsbury Town 3-0 on Saturday.

Parkinson's men have now won their last three League One games without conceding a goal (scoring eight goals down the right side of the pitch), but their only setback this season came in a knockout round, losing 4-2 to Sheffield United in their opening EFL Cup match.

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Opponents Salford City can understand this well, having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Doncaster Rovers in their first EFL Cup game of the season and then lost by the same scoreline 2-0 when Port Vale came to town in the EFL Trophy.

Charles RobinsonThe team held out against their League Two rivals for 50 minutes before Diamond EdwardsThe deflected shot from Ruari Paton Efforts to leave Salford City at the bottom of the table after a lost game.

However, Tuesday's visitors showed unmistakable signs of progress in the fourth tier, playing two consecutive draws against Bradford City and Chesterfield before finally picking up their first win of the season at the sixth attempt against MK Dons on 2 September.

A Francis Okoronkwo The result was enough for all three points at the time and Salford were due to face Fleetwood Town on Saturday, but the game had to be postponed due to the Cod Army's international call-ups.

Salford City, another one-time EFL Trophy winner – they beat Portsmouth on penalties in the 2019-20 final – will face Wrexham again after their two meetings in League Two last season, when the Welsh side won 3-2 at home before losing 3-1 at the Peninsula Stadium.

Wrexham form (All competitions):

Salford City EFL Trophy form:

Salford City form (all competitions):

Team News

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Wrexham were minimally affected by the September international break, losing only one player to a call-up: Gambia's left-back. Jacob Mendywhich means that James McClean should lead the hosts from this side this week.

However, Parkinson’s midfield is partially exhausted, George Evans is recovering from a groin injury, while Andy Cannon missed this weekend's win over Shrewsbury after picking up a problem at Peterborough United at the end of last month.

The hosts are otherwise well positioned and should use Tuesday's game as an ideal opportunity to reorganise the team. This could mean the celebrated striker's first appearance of the season. Paul Mullin.

In contrast, Salford City do not have a team on international duty this month, but MK Dons match-winner Okoronkwo is unavailable for Tuesday's game. The player, on loan from Everton, is cup-bound having previously played in the competition for the Toffees' U21s.

Should the visitors continue with a 3-4-1-2 formation on their trip to the Racecourse Ground, Kylian Kouassi is the most obvious option to replace Okoronkwo in attack, while Matthias Jung should replace Jamie Jones between the sticks.

Possible starting line-up for Wrexham:
Burton; Barnett, Cleworth, Scarr, O'Connell, McClean; Jones, Dobson, Lee; Mullin, Fletcher

Possible Salford City starting lineup:
Young; Austerfield, Negru, Edwards; Mnoga, Watson, Fornah, Garbutt; Woodburn; Kouassi, Stockton

We think: Wrexham 2-0 Salford City

Although it was a thrill to finally end the winless streak in the last game, a free weekend is probably the last thing Salford City would have wanted to maintain their winning streak.

Regardless, the League Two side would not have had much of a chance against the in-form Wrexham side anyway and even with a few changes, Parkinson's side should be able to cope with the task with ease.

Click here to see a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match.

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