Preview: Wrexham vs. Doncaster Rovers - prediction, team news, lineups

Wrexham will be looking to extend their five-match unbeaten run in League Two when they host Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

The visitors, on the other hand, are yet to win this season and will travel to Wales sitting bottom of the table.

Match preview

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After suffering a demoralising 5-3 defeat at home to MK Dons in their first game back in League Two, Wrexham have bounced back to claim nine points across five unbeaten matches since.

In fact, Phil Parkinson's side are unbeaten in eight games across all competitions, having beaten Wigan Athletic on penalties in the opening round of the EFL Cup before being on the other end of football's supposed lottery against Bradford City at the next stage. The Red Dragons also defeated Newcastle Under-21s in the EFL Trophy in midweek.

However, returning to the third tier for the first time since their relegation from that level in 2005 will be Parkinson's priority this season, with his side's 1-0 win away to Tranmere Rovers last weekend potentially set to prove crucial given that it was their first clean sheet of the season in the league.

As such, they will be fully expecting to build on that by beating an out-of-sorts Doncaster side on Saturday, with all three points likely to be enough to move them into the playoff spots.

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Indeed, Doncaster have endured a disastrous start to the season, although they did at least claim their second point with a 0-0 draw at home to Swindon Town last weekend.

Avoiding defeat was particularly impressive given that Tommy Rowe was sent off just before half time, with Grant McCann's side restricting their opponents to only two shots on target despite having one man fewer for the entire second half.

While that type of collective resolve will be needed if Rovers are to navigate their way outside of the relegation positions across the coming weeks, the fact that no team has scored fewer goals than them - and only their forthcoming opponents have conceded more - does not bode well for them even at this early stage of the campaign.

With that in mind, McCann will be hoping that Wrexham prove to be as defensively vulnerable as they had been prior to their tight win on Merseyside last weekend, with keeping all 11 men on the pitch surely a necessity if the visitors are to gain a positive result.

Team News

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Wrexham will remain without their star forward Paul Mullin, who has missed the opening weeks due to suffering a punctured lung against Manchester United in pre-season. However, the 28-year-old could return to action sooner than expected.

Only Sam Dalby and club captain Luke Young retained their places in the starting XI against Newcastle U21s in midweek, with Parkinson likely to select the same team that defeated Tranmere last time out in the league.

Doncaster, meanwhile, will travel without Rowe, who has had his three-match suspension upheld after the club unsuccessfully appealed against it.

Deji Sotona is likely to replace Rowe should McCann opt to utilise an attacking midfielder in a relatively free role, although the former Hull City boss could select a more defensive-minded player.

Wrexham possible starting lineup:

Howard; Hayden, Tozer, Boyle; Barnett, O'Connor, Young, Lee, McClean; Dalby, Palmer

Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:

Lawlor; Bailey, Wood, Senior; Molyneaux, Broadbent, Biggins, Westbrooke, Maxwell; Sotona, Ironside

We say: Wrexham 2-0 Doncaster Rovers

Wrexham appear to have settled down in terms of their defensive solidity in recent weeks, which could spell bad news for the rest of the division given their attacking firepower.

Doncaster displayed decent fight to claim a point against the odds in their last match, but we are struggling to envisage them avoiding defeat this time around.

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