Wrexham will travel to Wetherby Road on Sunday to take on Harrogate Town with an FA Cup second-round spot on the line.
The visitors will bid to progress through this stage for the third consecutive season, having reached the fourth round in each of the last two campaigns, while their hosts have also advanced to the fourth round in each of their last four attempts.
Match preview
© Imago
Harrogate Town kick off their FA Cup campaign on Sunday with the aim of booking a second-round place for their fifth straight season, having met non-league Marine at this stage last time around.
Simon Weaver's men advanced with a 5-1 away win in that game, before visiting third-tier Bolton Wanderers in the second round and dropping out of the competition following a loss by the same scoreline in Lancashire.
They now head into the cup following a tough start to their fifth consecutive League Two campaign, currently sitting 17th having earned 15 points from their first 14 outings with only one side having scored fewer than their 11 goals.
Following a 1-0 victory over Newport County and a creditable draw away at Carlisle United, the Sulphurites find themselves on the back of consecutive 1-0 league defeats, firstly falling at home to Port Vale before Alassana Jatta condemned them to a seventh defeat of the campaign in a tough trip to Notts County last weekend.
Harrogate Town will now bid to end their tough run on Sunday and build confidence with a major scalp to advance to the FA Cup second round.
© Imago
They face another difficult task, though, as the visitors arrive aiming to kickstart another cup run in the midst of a five-match unbeaten streak.
Wrexham have enjoyed eye-catching FA Cup success over the previous two seasons, reaching the fourth round on each occasion as a fifth-tier and fourth-tier side respectively, most recently seeing off Mansfield Town, Yeovil Town and Shrewsbury Town last season before eventually falling short away at Blackburn Rovers.
The 2023-24 season ended in a second straight promotion for Phil Parkinson's side, and they have enjoyed a seamless transition to life in England's third tier, amassing 25 points from their first 13 outings to sit third.
After suffering just a second league defeat of the season away at Stevenage at the beginning of October, the Red Dragons earned three straight victories including third-tier triumphs over Rotherham United and Northampton Town, before extending an unbeaten streak with consecutive draws heading into the weekend's trip, most recently being held to a 2-2 draw away at fellow promotion-chasers Charlton Athletic having led 2-1 until injury time.
Wrexham now visit Wetherby Road, where they were also pegged back to a 2-2 draw in League Two last season, with the aim of booking a second-round spot for a third straight season and extending their strong run before meeting Mansfield Town next weekend.
Team News
© Imago
Simon Weaver should field a similar Harrogate Town starting XI on Saturday from last weekend's narrow defeat away at Notts County, with key defender Toby Sims set to remain sidelined after missing the trip to Meadow Lane.
Jack Muldoon will compete to come in and lead the line, but the Sulphurites may stick with Sam Folarin, who sits joint-top of their scoring charts alongside winger Ellis Taylor with three goals so far this season.
Matty Daly will offer further support through the centre, while Levi Sutton may come in to join Dean Cornelius in the engine room from the outset.
Phil Parkinson may opt to rotate his strong Wrexham squad for Saturday's trip, with the likes of Eoghan O'Connell, Sebastian Revan, Andy Cannon and new signing Matty James hoping to earn starting spots.
Cannon could return to the midfield alongside Elliott Lee and Oliver Rathbone, who came in for their meeting with Charlton Athletic last time out, while O'Connell saw his spot in the defence alongside Thomas O'Connor and Max Cleworth taken by Dan Scarr recently.
Jack Marriott and Steven Fletcher both missed the Charlton contest due to injuries, meaning Ollie Palmer and Paul Mullin should continue up front, with the latter having netted 103 goals in 146 appearances for the Red Dragons including nine in nine FA Cup games.
Harrogate Town possible starting lineup:
Belshaw; Asare, O'Connor, Moon, Foulds; Taylor, Sutton, Cornelius, Dooley; Daly; Folarin
Wrexham possible starting lineup:
Okonkwo; Revan, O'Connell, Scarr, O'Connor, McClean; Lee, Rathbone, Cannon; Mullin, Palmer
We say: Harrogate Town 0-2 Wrexham
While Parkinson may shuffle his pack to maintain freshness throughout the squad, Wrexham should still have far too much for a Harrogate Town side who are struggling going forward, with the Red Dragons boasting strength in depth across the pitch.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
