Match Preview: Wrexham v Tranmere Rovers

As Tranmere prepare for their derby awayday against Wrexham on Tuesday evening, Louise Formston returns with her match preview ahead of the game.....

Tuesday night offers possibly the most awaited fixture of the season for some local fans as Rovers travel over the border to the Glyndŵr University Racecourse Ground to take on Wrexham.  Both teams have ambitions to be up there by the end of the season and have had solid starts to the season so Tuesday will hopefully prove a good test for both sides.

Form Guide:

Results at the weekend have seen Rovers leapfrog Wrexham in the table with the Super Whites now sitting third, just three points off the top whilst Wrexham have slipped out of the play offs and find themselves in seventh with 23 points.  The last ten games have seen Rovers lose just two, draw four and win four (three consecutively – Aldershot, Cheltenham and Bromley) and remain unbeaten for an incredible eight games.

The last time Rovers had a spell like this they were top of League One in 2012 – although the less said about the end to that season the better, I still need counselling over it!  During this current spell of good form Rovers have seen their goal difference increase dramatically and now find themselves with the third best goal difference in the division, just behind Cheltenham (GD of sixteen) and Grimsby (GD of twelve).  Saturday was Scott Davies’ sixth clean sheet in fourteen games.  For comparison Owain Fon Williams managed the same feat in thirteen games during his first season with the club – also achieving his sixth clean sheet on the first weekend of October in the 2011/2012 season. 

Wrexham have seen a slip in form of late having lost their last two games to teams lower down the table (Eastleigh and Chester).  In their last ten games they’ve racked up four wins like Rovers’ but are finding themselves losing more games than they can draw.  This form has meant Wrexham have slipped out of the play-off places with a goal difference of seven.  Scoring hasn’t been a problem for Wrexham this season; they’ve put twenty-five into the opposition net (two more than Tranmere) and have the fourth best goals for column in the league (behind Cheltenham, Bromley and Grimsby).  However their defence has struggled, conceding three last Saturday alone.

Previous Meetings:

Wrexham and Tranmere have met many times of the years, both competitively and in friendlies.  The most recent meeting between the sides came back in 2013 when Rovers visited Wales for a friendly with Tranmere losing two nil, despite Jean-Louis Akpa-Akpro and new signing Ryan Lowe starting and fans returning with stories of heavy handed Welsh Police.

As for the last competitive match, it was just over ten and a half years ago with the teams meeting in League One.  That match saw Rovers’ coming away from Wales with a 5-1 victory – here’s hoping for a repeat on Tuesday.  Overall the clubs share bragging rights with Rovers winning thirty-nine of the meetings and Wrexham also celebrating thirty-nine wins.  The teams have twenty-five draws between them.

Injuries and Suspensions:

Both James Norwood and Steve Jennings will return from their suspension on Tuesday night but Saturday’s game saw Michael Ihiekwe limp off with a suspected hamstring injury.  If so, that will rule him out for the Wrexham game if not longer.  Marcus Holness returned to the bench but is still not fully fit, and neither is Martin Riley although he did very well coming on halfway through Saturday’s game.

Wrexham’s James Gray and Jonathon Royle were both ruled out of last weekend’s game whilst Jamal Fyfield served a one game suspension.  Gray suffered a broken hand a few weeks ago playing against Grimsby and is unlikely to return for Tuesday.

The Opposition Dugout:

Wrexham are currently managed by the other Gary – Mr Mills.  For some Rovers’ fans he’s the one that got away but personally I think we’ve picked the better one!  The 53-year old is a former footballer himself, having played for Nottingham Forest and Notts County as well as Leicester City.  Following his retirement from playing, Mills took a job at Grantham Town in the late 90's.  After managing a couple of teams in the lower regions of non-league, Mills took over at Coventry City in 2002 lasting just one season before returning to Notts County in 2004.

The following year Mills went to Alfreton before returning again to Tamworth in 2007 but he couldn’t recreate the success of his earlier spell as manager. After a brief, but not great, spell at York, Mills took his chances at Gateshead and oversaw two play off charges (including one that culminated in a loss at Wembley to Cambridge United) as Gateshead attempted to break into the Football League.

This summer, after failing to see Gateshead promoted again, Mills left the club for Wrexham – despite rumours he would be taking the reigns at Prenton Park.  Tuesday will see a battle of the Gary’s and perhaps prove to some sections of Tranmere supports that Mr Brabin is in fact the man for the Tranmere job.

One To Watch:

Dominic Vose (21) - Attacking Midfielder (Centre):

Dominic Vose is currently joint top scorer for Wrexham with five goals (James Gray is the man he shares the position with).  Signing for Wrexham in May, Vose has already set about leaving his mark in the team.  Previously, Vose has played for Braintree, Barnet and Colchester.  However, he made only a handful of appearances at Colchester and found his contract terminated by mutual consent in December 2014.  The number eight signed for Welling in January of this year, going on to make fifteen appearances but scoring just once.  This season Vose has appeared to find his goal-scoring boots and has five already with his most recent being a penalty against Chester at the weekend.

The game will be particularly of interest to former Wrexham player but current Tranmere player Jay Harris – Harris has been a standout star of the Tranmere campaign so far, and I’m sure he’ll relish in the chance to show Wrexham what they’re missing.

Perhaps the most well-known player to have appeared for both sides is Jim Steel who racked up over 170 appearances for Wrexham, managing fifty one goals before he ended his career playing for Tranmere.

Around the League:

There isn’t a full fixture list this week but here’s a pick of the most relevant:

Cheltenham vs Braintree:  Both teams sit close to Tranmere in the table so I guess a draw is the best to hope for but it’s a game I’ll be keeping my eye on during Tuesday.

Grimsby vs Gateshead:  Possibly the closest to a Derby these two teams get, Gateshead are in and around there at the minute and a Grimsby win would ease the pressure a little on Rovers.

Torquay vs Dover:  Torquay are struggling at the minute, whilst Dover’s recent form has seen them just sneak into the playoffs.

My Starting XI:

   Davies

Sutton             Riley                 Hogan           Hill

Dawson              Harris                Maynard            Mekki

     Margetts           Mangan

Why changing a winning team?  Riley played his part in keeping a clean sheet and therefore retains his place should Ihiekwe not be fit.  Norwood and Jennings should expect to have to fight for the places in the side now Margetts has shown what he’s capable of and Maynard had what I think is his best performance in a Tranmere shirt.  It’s a great dilemma for Brabin to have.  As for a score prediction – anything that isn’t a loss to be honest!  Lets focus on staying unbeaten for as long as we can.

In other Tranmere related news, Cole Stockton scored two for Southport on Saturday, taking his total to three goals for them now.  All our strikers appear to be scoring of late and it’s great to see a product of Tranmere’s Academy doing well.  Here’s hoping he returns full of confidence.