Eng. Championship
2026-10-17 - Wrexham vs Preston North End
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Saturday 17th October 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
Wrexham
There are plenty of eyes on how Wrexham are performing thanks to the takeover that has led to a lot of successful promotions through the Divisions in recent years. Last season rumours of Phil Parkinson being placed under some pressure came as a surprise, but Wrexham fans may be losing more patience in the 2026/27 season when most had expectations of the club pushing for a Play Off spot in the expanded format of that end of season tournament.
Instead Wrexham blew a 1-0 lead at the Racecourse Ground during the week and the eventual defeat to West Brom has dropped the team into 17th place in the Championship table with 11 points secured. This may not be the time for panic, but Parkinson could do with a big response from a team that have a disappointing 1-2-2 record in front of the fans.
Wrexham have won 1 of the last 6 games in the League and the defeat to West Brom is the second in the last 4 played. The Red Dragons have won 1 of the last 6 at the Racecourse Ground going back to last season and failed to build on the 2-1 victory that was secured against Southampton before the last international break.
The manager has stated his squad has been hit hard by injury and perhaps the worst it has been since he took over at the Racecourse Ground.
Preston North End
Preseason expectations were for a season where Preston North End could potentially struggle having produced the fifth poorest record across the second half of the season in the Championship. Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday were two teams who finished below Preston North End in that second half standings and both ended up relegated and so there had been some concerns.
After a little over two years in charge, Paul Heckingbottom was sacked as manager of Preston North End last month and he left when the team were 23rd in the Championship table. Things have not improved since then with Preston North End slipping to bottom of the table with just 4 points on the board, and former player Graham Alexander has not had much of an early impact having taken over as manager.
Preston North End beat Blackburn Rovers just before they relieved the former manager of his job, but they have not won any of the next 5 League games and suffered 4 losses in that time. During the week they conceded four goals in a thumping loss at Birmingham City and that means Preston North End have earned a single point from 5 away League games played this season.
Stanley Mills was sent off on Tuesday and will serve a suspension, while the squad are still without a couple of key players.
Head to Head
Wrexham picked up four points against Preston North End in the League last season and also beat them at Deepdale in the League Cup.
Wrexham had not won any of 4 when hosting Preston North End before beating them 2-1 at the Racecourse Ground at the end of December 2025.
Prediction
Both teams are missing some key figures, but there is pressure on Phil Parkinson to try and get things turned around at Wrexham.
Graham Alexander will be given more time having only just returned to Deepdale, this time as manager of the club, but Preston North End need a spark.
This is a big game for both after disappointing League defeats during the week, but you have to say that home advantage should be the key for Wrexham. They have not made full use of that this season, but Wrexham played well at Derby County last weekend and something similar may give them too much for a struggling visiting team.
Preston North End have given up too many good opportunities to opposition teams in recent matches and it may be what Wrexham need to get back on track and start moving up the Championship standings.
The Pick :
Wrexham 2-1 Preston North End
