Will there be an upset at the Racecourse Ground on Friday night? We look ahead to the FA Cup third-round clash with our Wrexham vs Nottingham Forest prediction and preview.
Wrexham vs Nottingham Forest: The Key Stats
Nottingham Forest claimed victory against Wrexham across 90 minutes in 52.6% of pre-match simulations by the Opta supercomputer. Wrexham have won their last two FA Cup third-round matches, beating sides from higher divisions on both occasions. This will be the first meeting between the pair since the 1993-94 League Cup second round, when Forest progressed across two legs.Sean Dyche will be hoping there is no Hollywood ending for Wrexham when Nottingham Forest make the trip to Wales for their FA Cup third-round clash.
The pair have never been in the same division across the English Football League’s top four tiers, but Wrexham will have a shot at downing the Premier League side under the Racecourse Ground (or STōK Cae Ras) lights on Friday night.
Backed significantly by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, Wrexham’s fast rise to the second tier has befitted the Hollywood influence of their ownership, but they are no strangers to playing the underdog in this competition.
Phil Parkinson’s side have won their last two FA Cup third-round matches, beating opponents from a higher division both times. As a fifth-tier side in 2022-23 they dispatched Championship team Coventry City, before overcoming League One Shrewsbury Town the following year while playing in the division below.
Wrexham’s record against top-flight opponents is also pretty good, but not quite as convincing. The Welsh side have alternated between progressing (four) and being eliminated (four) from their last eight FA Cup ties against top-flight opponents.
However, Parkinson’s team have not faced a top-flight side in this competition since losing 3-1 against Stoke City in January 2015, and much has changed since that fixture. They were still competing in the fifth tier – a division they did not escape until promotion in 2022-23.
Parkinson has also never faced Premier League opposition while managing Wrexham, but they head into this clash on the back of four straight Championship victories. Goals from Sam Smith and Matty James gave them a 2-1 victory over Forest’s rivals, Derby County, last Sunday to move just a point off the play-off places.
Forest will head to Wales with some confidence from Tuesday’s 2-1 comeback victory over West Ham that opened up a seven-point cushion over the Premier League’s bottom three. Morgan Gibbs-White scored a late penalty to win it after Nicolás Domínguez had cancelled out Murillo’s own goal.
That win at London Stadium also snapped a four-game losing streak in the top flight, and Dyche may be relieved to offer some of his squad a rest in a competition they have recently fared well in.
Forest have reached the fourth round of the FA Cup in the last two seasons. They will now be aiming to do so in three consecutive campaigns for the first time since managing the same feat between 1994-95 and 1996-97.
As for team news, Wrexham will be without a host of first-choice attackers. Top scorer Kieffer Moore, Josh Windass and Ryan Hardie all missed the Derby victory. Issa Kaboré could return, though, after Burkina Faso were eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday.
Chris Wood remains Forest’s only long-term absentee. This clash may come too soon for Ryan Yates as well, though Dan Ndoye will hope to be passed fit. Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangaré are still away at the AFCON with Côte d’Ivoire, having helped to knock out Kaboré and Burkina Faso in the last 16.
Wrexham vs Nottingham Forest Head-to-Head
Wrexham are starting their FA Cup campaign in the third round for the first time in 43 years, after securing a third successive promotion and place in the 2025-26 Championship.
Coincidentally, Wrexham beat Forest 3-1 at the City Ground in January 1982 – the last time they qualified straight into the third round – in what remains their only previous FA Cup meeting.
It will also be the first clash between the pair in any competition since the 1993-94 League Cup second round.
Forest progressed on that occasion, drawing 3-3 in the first leg before a 3-1 victory at home in the return meeting sent them through as 6-4 aggregate winners.
Wrexham vs Nottingham Forest Prediction
The Opta supercomputer backed Forest’s top-flight quality to show, with the visitors winning across 90 minutes in 52.6% of 10,000 pre-match simulations.
Wrexham have just a 24.5% chance of victory, while the draw – which would send the tie to extra-time and potentially penalties – accounted for 22.9% of the data-led sims.
Opta Power Rankings
The Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system. They assign an ability score to over 13,000 domestic football teams. This score is on a scale between zero and 100, where zero is the worst-ranked team in the world and 100 is the best team in the world.
Ahead of kick-off in Wales on Friday night, here is the Opta Power Ranking for both sides.
Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Wrexham vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Can Red Dragons Overcome Premier League Opponents in FA Cup Third Round? Opta Analyst.
Hence then, the article about wrexham vs nottingham forest prediction can red dragons overcome premier league opponents in fa cup third round was published today ( ) and is available on The Analyst ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Wrexham vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Can Red Dragons Overcome Premier League Opponents in FA Cup Third Round? )
Also on site :
- MI-W vs RCB-W Dream11 Prediction, Dream11 Playing XI, Today Match 1, WPL 2026
- Suspected Oreshnik missile strike in western Ukraine (VIDEO)
- Morton East student killed in shooting near Cicero school