Three Wrexham stars will transform Phil Parkinson’s team as pundit lauds trio

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Football League expert George Elek thinks that Saturday’s early Championship kick-off between Wrexham and Derby County could shape up to be a footballing-themed episode of Myth Busters.

Pre-season predictions squashed, and plenty of surprises of both the good and the bad variety.

Derby County, under the typically well-drilled John Eustace, were expected to rely again on a solid defensive record. Wrexham, meanwhile, were tipped to struggle going forward.

But while some pundits are struggling to pick between Wrexham and Derby, another has driven deep into the numbers, the performances, and emerges confident of a home win for Phil Parkinson’s side.

Derby head to the Racecourse Ground with the joint-worst defensive record in the division. Only Bristol City and Coventry have scored more than Wrexham, meanwhile. Level with league leaders Middlesbrough on eleven.

Kieffer Moore has scored six in his last six appearances, with his mere presence likely to strike fear into the heart of the travelling Rams supporters.

Elek feels that the emergence of Issa Kabore and Ben Sheaf, plus Phil Parkinson’s decision to drop summer signing Connor Coady in place of the less-glamorous Dom Hyam, gives Wrexham further reason to believe that more wins are on the horizon.

George Elek says Ben Sheaf and Issa Kabore will transform Wrexham vs Derby County

It is no secret that Frank Lampard was desperate for Coventry to keep Sheaf.

Having blossomed into one of the finest midfielders in the Championship, it is no coincidence that arguably Wrexham’s most impressive display since promotion came against Norwich City last weekend with the £6.5 million playmaker starting for the first time.

Manchester City loanee Issa Kabore was a revelation on the flank too, providing an influx of intent and energy.

Connor Coady was given the runaround at QPR recently, meanwhile. And though Wrexham still conceded two more goals with Hyam starting in his place during that Josh Windass-inspired 3-2 win over Norwich, Elek has seen enough to suggest the former England international should stay on the bench for the time being.

“I’m pretty concerned about Wrexham, for the most part,” Elek begins. “Obviously, two away wins back-to-back is a positive start but, at home, where they’ve been so good for the most part, they’ve kind of struggled this season.

“And the reason for that is their defence, where they’ve conceded the highest xG value in the league so far this season. They have conceded the most amount of shots of anyone in the league this season. It doesn’t really matter what you do from an attacking point of view. If you are posting those defensive numbers, I think you’re going to struggle.

“[Looking at] the reasons to be a bit more positive, seeing Sheaf come into midfield and play an hour at Norwich was big,” Elek adds. “Seeing Connor Coady dropped for Dom Hyam, I think, is really, really positive and will make them much more secure in their back three.

“And Kabore on the right-hand side might not be much in terms of defensive work but, certainly from an attacking perspective, would offer something new.”

Elek suggests Derby are Championship’s ‘worst team’ right now

While there are only two points between Wrexham in 16th and Derby County in 22nd, Elek expects that gap to extend to five with a comfortable home win.

“If you’re looking at the the last few games in isolation, I think you can make a case for [Derby] being the worst team in the league, which is a big surprise,” he predicts.

“You’ve got a Wrexham team who, going forward, have looked good since the first ball was kicked. There’s no getting away from that. The attacking numbers they’ve posted, the goals that they’ve scored, it all suggests they are going to have no issues with their with their attacking play this season.

“Their undoing has been at the back. But they’re playing against the Derby side who carry very little threat consistently. And even though I’m sure Derby might carry more of a threat here given Wrexham’s defensive woes, I think Wrexham will dominate this game.

“I think they will dominate the chances. I think they will dominate between both boxes. I think this will be three wins out of four for Wrexham. It’s kind of the perfect opposition and I expect them to win.”