Sunday has all the ingredients for a pulsating FA Cup second-round match-up between two sides in fine form. League Two hot shots Wrexham host National League South highflyers Yeovil Town, two sides that are now two divisions apart after being in the same one last campaign.
Wrexham, who are owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have taken to life back in the Football League like ducks to water. They sit second in the division in what is a tightly contested race for automatic promotion but are five points adrift of league leaders Stockport County. They’ve won 10 out of 20 league games so far but only lost on three occasions, with Phil Parkinson’s side firmly amongst the promotion fight.
In their last five games in all competitions, The Red Dragons have won three times, drawn once, and lost once. Most recently they’re coming off the back of a 2-2 draw away to Harrogate Town. Andy Cannon and Elliot Lee gave them a two-goal lead before goals from Dean Cornelius and Anthony O’Connor pegged the hosts back to take a share of the spoils. Prior to that, Wrexham thrashed Morecambe 6-0, Paul Mullin bagged a hat-trick whilst an own goal from Joel Senior, Jacob Mendy, and James Jones completed the rout.
The FA Cup saw a League Two tie between Mansfield Town and Wrexham. Goals from Sam Dalby and Paul Mullin booked their place in the second round despite a response from Rhys Oates on the hour mark.
Similarly to Wrexham, Yeovil Town will be more than happy with their start to the season. They currently occupy top spot in National League South registering an impressive 42 points from 19 games. They’ve registered 13 league wins and are six points clear of challengers Maidstone, with a game in hand.
The Glovers' recent form his dipped somewhat after looking almost unplayable, registering two wins, two defeats, and a draw in their last five games. Most recently, they disappointingly got thrashed 4-1 away to Welling United. Despite Jordan Young giving Yeovil the lead, Kain Adams, and then a Tristan Abrahams hattrick in the second half condemned the visitors to a third defeat of the season.
Yeovil have had a long FA Cup run this season, starting with a 7-1 win in the second qualifying round against Stoneham, followed by a 2-0 win over Didcot Town. The Glovers run continued with another 2-0 win over Southend which was backed up with an entertaining 3-2 victory over Gateshead, with goals from Jordan Stevens, Rhys and an own goal from Joe Grayson sealing their spot in the second round.
Historically in the FA Cup, Wrexham achieved one of the FA Cup’s greatest upsets by beating Arsenal in the third round in 1992. They’ve also reached the quarterfinals in the 1996-96 season, when they were in the third tier of English football.
Yeovil Town have historically been the giant-killers of the competition, with more upsets against Football League clubs as a non-league side than any other team in the history of the competition. They’ll fancy their chances against a confident Wrexham though.
In the last five games between the two sides, Wrexham have come out on top, winning three times, drawing once, and Yeovil winning once. The most recent was a 3-0 win for Wrexham in April. You have to go back to 2021 for Yeovil’s last win over Wrexham, which was a 2-0 victory for the Glovers.
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