In the penultimate round of fixtures of the season, Charlton Athletic will travel to the Racecourse Ground on Saturday to take on Wrexham in a crucial battle at the top end of the League One table.
With two games remaining, the hosts occupy the second automatic promotion spot in England's third tier and lead third-placed Wycombe Wanderers and their fourth-placed visitors by two and four points respectively.
Match preview
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Wrexham head into the weekend aiming to take a major step towards guaranteeing their automatic climb to the Championship, in what would be a third consecutive promotion.
In their first season back in League One since 2005, the Red Dragons have enjoyed another fine campaign, currently sitting second having earned 86 points from their 44 outings, winning 25 of those and only losing eight.
After the most recent of those setbacks in mid-March, Phil Parkinson's side have strengthened their top-two hopes with an eight-match unbeaten streak, amassing 18 points along the way, although their momentum was slowed by back-to-back draws in mid-April.
Following the second of those, a disappointing home stalemate with strugglers Bristol Rovers on Good Friday, the Welsh outfit quickly regained second spot on Monday with a crucial 2-1 win away at Blackpool, as James McClean and Oliver Rathbone had them two goals ahead in the second half.
Now sitting two points clear of Wycombe Wanderers thanks to that win and four above their visitors, Wrexham have the chance to move out of reach and guarantee a top-two finish on Saturday with a victory if the former fail to win in their trip to Leyton Orient.
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Their opponents, meanwhile, head to the Racecourse Ground aiming to keep their own top-two hopes alive with another crucial victory on Saturday, having climbed into the automatic promotion-battle with an eye-catching run in recent months.
Indeed, in their last 20 league outings since mid-January, Charlton Athletic have picked up 15 victories and amassed 48 points to move into fourth spot on 82 points for the campaign, losing just two of those in that time with the most recent coming away at Peterborough United last month.
Nathan Jones's side have bounced back from that in style since, winning five of their last six attempts including three straight victories heading into Saturday's trip, firstly prevailing away at Cambridge United and at home to Northampton Town.
A tough trip to then-second-placed Wycombe Wanderers then followed on Easter Monday, and the Addicks dished out a 4-0 beating in impressive fashion, as Lloyd Jones and Luke Berry gave them a 2-0 lead inside 25 minutes and Matt Godden and Karoy Anderson added second-half goals.
Now with a playoff place guaranteed and the chance to move within one point of Wrexham heading into the final day, Charlton Athletic will be desperate to make it four wins on the bounce and two against automatic promotion rivals on Saturday.
Team News
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Wrexham could be unchanged from Monday's away win over Blackpool, with Mo Faal, Andy Cannon, Will Boyle and Sebastian Revan remaining sidelined by injuries.
January arrivals Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez should again lead the attack in a 3-5-2 setup, despite competition from Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher, while James McClean and Ryan Longman offer further threat from wing-back roles.
Elliot Lee, who sits joint-top of their scoring charts with eight goals this season, will hope to return to the midfield, but Parkinson may stick with the trio of Oliver Rathbone, George Dobson and Matty James, while Max Cleworth, Dan Scarr and Lewis Brunt will continue in a back three.
Charlton Athletic should also field a similar starting XI after their 4-0 thrashing of Wycombe Wanderers last time out, with Chuks Aneke suspended having been sent off late in his substitute appearance in that game while Miles Leaburn and Daniel Kanu remain confined to the treatment room.
Nathan Jones may have to make an enforced change, though, after Luke Berry, who scored the second goal at Adams Park, was quickly forced off in the first half, meaning Karoy Anderson should come back in from the outset having also got on the scoresheet on Monday.
He will likely join Thierry Small and Tyreece Campbell in support of front man Matt Godden, who has netted 16 league goals so far this term, while Conor Coventry and Greg Docherty are bound to continue their partnership in the engine room.
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Cleworth, Scarr, Brunt; Longman, Dobson, James, Rathbone, McClean; Smith, Rodriguez
Charlton Athletic possible starting lineup:
Mannion; Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Edwards; Coventry, Docherty; Campbell, Anderson, Small; Godden
We say: Wrexham 1-1 Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic head to the Racecourse Ground with plenty of momentum on the back of three straight wins, including Monday's thrashing of third-placed Wycombe, and they will look to keep any top-two hopes alive with another win.
We see the hosts doing enough to at least share the points, though, leaving themselves and Wycombe Wanderers competing for second spot on the final day.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
