Key events
Phil Parkinson, the Wrexham manager, spoke to the BBC: ““When the draw came out we sat down as a staff and said that the aim was to get through the Christmas period in good form, and we managed to do that, and tonight I want the supporters, players and staff to enjoy the occasion. But, we will only enjoy it if we play somewhere near our maximum.”
Sean Dyche has been speaking to TNT: “We’ve got a quiet week next week and then it all picks up again in the Europa League. We’ve got some good players out there tonight so I expect a performance.
“We’ve had eight injuries to players, some that have proved themselves at this club and others who want to prove themselves, so the true fitness is not there in some of them, but we’ve got no choice but to use them. These are tricky games. I’ve made it absolutely clear to the players that our attitude has to be spot on.”
Four changes for Wrexham, Dan Scarr, Liberato Cacace, Ollie Rathbone and George Dobson in, with Max Cleworth, Matty James, Josh Windass and George Thomason out.
As predicted, Sean Dyche makes eight changes. Igor Jesus and Omari Hutchinson are the only survivors from this week’s win at West Ham.
Other FA Cup games tonight:
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MK Dons v Oxford
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Port Vale v Fleetwood
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Preston v Wigan
The teams
Wrexham: Okonkwo, Scarr, Hyam, Doyle, Dobson, Sheaf, Longman, Rathbone, Broadhead, Cacace, Smith. Subs: Burton, Coady, McClean, Barnett, Thomason, O’Brien, Ashfield, Windass, Rodriguez.
Nottm Forest: Sels, Savona, Jair Cunha, Morato, Zinchenko, McAtee, Douglas Luiz, Hutchinson, Ndoye, Bakwa, Igor Jesus. Subs: Gunn, Williams, Murillo, Hudson-Odoi, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White, Dominguez, Milenkovic, Abbott.
Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
Not everyone has bought into the Wrexham fairytale, of course.
Here’s a preview of the weekend, in the usual way.
Preamble
Would it be an FA Cup giantkilling if America’s team, the mighty Wrexham, beat Nottingham Forest? Though the Robins have play-off hopes very much alive their concerns are not as deep as Forest’s. Relegation is still a serious concern for Sean Dyche’s men, and their manager has some previous for concentrating on the league. It’s bound to be a decent atmosphere at the Racecourse so let’s consider the third round open, and let’s hope it starts in style.
Kick-off is at 7.30pm. Join me.
#Wrexham #Nottingham #Forest #Cup #live #Cup
