Burton Albion vs Wrexham: Team news, form guide, predicted line-ups
Wrexham can add to Burton Albion’s misery when they head to Pirelli Stadium in Staffordshire on Saturday, seeking to end their own two-match winless run away from home in League One.
The Red Dragons maintained their grip on second place in the standings thanks to a dramatic 1-0 win over Barnsley on Tuesday night, while Burton climbed off the foot of league table with a shock 1-0 away win over Peterborough United.
Here is RobRyanRed’s match preview ahead of Saturday’s clash…
Road woes
If there’s one area that should be a concern for Phil Parkinson, it would be Wrexham’s form away from home this season.
The Red Dragons are averaging just 1.13 points-per-game on the road, per FootyStats, scoring the third-fewest goals on their travels thus far (six).
A failure to win against relegation-threatened Burton would equal Wrexham’s longest domestic run without a win away from home from last season (three).
The Wrexham star going under the radar
Since the takeover by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham have made a number of impactful signings on their way to back-to-back promotions.
One who rarely makes the headlines, but has been invaluable since arriving, is former Burton Albion defender Tom O’Connor.
While he’s come off the bench in the last three games, O’Connor’s versatility is a huge boost for a side dealing with a slew of injuries.
Parkinson has utilised him in various roles, both as a deep-lying or advanced midfielder, or a left centre-back, with the Irishman flourishing in all of them when called upon.
He’s been excellent at recoveries and tackles won this season, while providing excellent service to Wrexham’s attacking threats.
He’s created 11 chances domestically per FOTMOB with one assist.
O’Connor may have lost his place to Lewis Brunt in recent games but don’t count him out.
Burton’s outstanding goalkeeper
Burton Albion are 23rd in the table, with just one win at their Pirelli Stadium this season.
If it wasn’t for the goalkeeping displays of Max Crocombe, however, many of their defeats would have been much more lopsided.
Crocombe has often been called into action, leading the league in saves per 90 (4.4).
Burton have lost six League One matches by a single goal, dropping seven points domestically when scoring first.
That said they have won three of their four meetings with Wrexham by a single goal, including a 3-2 triumph in the EFL Trophy last season.
Having beaten Peterborough in the week to regain some positivity, this one is finely poised.
Team news
Wrexham’s injury woes suffered another hit with No 2 goalkeeper Callum Burton forced off with an apparent thigh strain on Tuesday, with No 3 stopper Mark Howard ready to take his place from the start this weekend.
No 1 goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo (wrist), Luke Bolton (calf), Will Boyle (calf), George Evans (torn ankle ligaments) and Jack Marriott (broken fibula) remain on the physio table with long-term issues.
Red Dragons’ captain James McClean and George Dobson will each miss their first match of the League One campaign this weekend as they serve a one-match ban for yellow card accumulation.
Tom Hounsell’s men will still be without Charlie Webster as he serves the final match of his red card suspension, while Julian Larsson was back on the bench Tuesday after missing some time with a knock.
Danilo Orsi has been their primary threat up top, with the Camden-born striker netting six times so far this season.
Predicted XIs
Burton Albion: Crocombe; Godwin-Malife, Vancooten, Sweeney, Sraha; Watt, Chauke; Whitfield, Kalinauskas, Bennett; Orsi
Wrexham: Howard; Cleworth, O’Connell, Brunt; Barnett, James, Cannon, Rathbone, Revan; Lee, Palmer
