Preview: Wrexham vs Ipswich Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Wrexham and Ipswich Town square off at the Racecourse Ground on Friday night looking to secure a place in the FA Cup fifth round.

These two teams are separated by just seven points in the Championship table, Wrexham sitting in sixth position with Ipswich as high as third.

Match preview

In their first season back in the second tier of English football, everyone associated with Wrexham will be delighted to be sitting in the playoffs with 15 matches remaining.

Nevertheless, there will be a feeling that they could be better placed having taken just seven points from their last five games.

Although away triumphs at Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday have been recorded, Wrexham have also suffered home defeats to Norwich City and Millwall.

A draw against struggling Leicester City in between those other setbacks makes it three successive games without a win on home territory, and just two victories in seven at the Racecourse Ground in all competitions.

Parkinson's team needed a penalty shootout to reach this stage of the FA Cup, defying a comeback from Premier League side Nottingham Forest which secured a 3-3 draw before relying on goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo.

As for Ipswich, full focus is on trying to chase down Middlesbrough and Coventry City in the Championship automatic promotion race.

Ahead of back-to-back trips to Wrexham in different competitions, Kieran McKenna's side now trail stuttering Coventry by just five points with a game in hand.

Only collecting one point from games against Sheffield United and Preston North End suggested that the Tractor Boys had lost momentum after a seven-game undefeated streak in all tournaments.

However, Ipswich returned to winning ways last time out with a 2-1 success at Derby County, Leif Davis' second-half goal proving to be the difference between sitting in third and fifth.

Ipswich reached the last 32 of the FA Cup with a 2-1 victory over League One club Blackpool at Portman Road.

Wrexham FA Cup form:

Wrexham form (all competitions):

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Ipswich Town FA Cup form:

Ipswich Town form (all competitions):

W W W L D W

Team News

Matty James and Liberato Cacace are expected to miss out for Wrexham after suffering toe and knee issues against Millwall.

Ryan Longman and George Dobson could return to the starting lineup in their place, while goalkeeper Danny Ward may be handed a first start since August after injury.

Josh Windass and Sam Smith are options in the final third, but Nathan Broadhead remains a doubt and Davis Keillor-Dunn is cup-tied.

Meanwhile, Dan Neil could be handed a start in the Ipswich midfield, with Kasey McAteer, Chuba Akpom and George Hirst also being recalled.

Goalkeeper Alex Palmer and defender Jacob Greaves will also expect starts, but Anis Mehmeti is cup-tied after representing Bristol City in the third round.

Marcelino Nunez and Jaden Philogene will both be assessed after missing the Derby game through injury.

Wrexham possible starting lineup:

Ward; Cleworth, Hyam, Doyle; Kabore, Dobson, Sheaf, Longman; Rathbone, Windass; Smith

Ipswich Town possible starting lineup:

Palmer; Furlong, Kipre, Greaves, Davis; Neil, Taylor; McAteer, Akpom, Clarke; Hirst

We say: Wrexham 1-2 Ipswich Town

With Wrexham having a Championship fixture on Tuesday, Parkinson may be more open to tinkering with his starting lineup than McKenna. With that in mind, we are backing the visitors to come through in a hard-fought game, potentially by the odd goal in three.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.