| Wrexham look to return to winnings ways when we
entertain inform Bury at the Racecourse as we attempt to narrow the gap
at the foot of the table. The midweek
results enabled Macclesfield to re-open the six point gap to safety and
a first home win since the beginning of February is looking a must ahead
of the crucial Easter fixtures next weekend.
Bury were in threat of relegation themselves only a
few weeks ago but three straight wins, and only two defeats in their
last nine games, has enabled the Shakers to pull twelve points clear of
safety.
A three game winning streak is what Wrexham could do
with at the moment with Bury's starting with an emphatic 4-1 win at
Brentford and this has been followed up with three points at Morecambe
(2-1) and the 3-0 defeat of seventh placed Rotherham on Tuesday night.
The victory over Rotherham resulted in Bury jumping
four places to sixteenth in the table with a return of forty-two points
from thirty-seven games.
The up turn in form for the Shakers has coincided with
the departure of Chris Casper and Keith Alexandra last month to be
replaced by Alan Knill as manager.
Knill, a former player at Gigg Lane, has won five of
his nine games in charge and has also seen the return of form of striker
Andy Bishop who has netted ten times in as many games.
It is no surprise that Bishop, a former York striker,
is the leading goal scorer for the Shakers and his brace in midweek has
taken his tally to twenty-three for the season in all competitions.
Nicky Adams has also contributed eleven goals from midfield and Bury have the ninth best scoring record with forty
eight so far and this is almost double our tally of twenty-five.
There is some glimmer of hope for Wrexham in that Bury
have conceded seven more goals than us this season and this goes to
highlight our problem of not scoring enough at the other end, although
Michael Proctor's form has improved recently with three goals in as many
games.
Knill has used the loan market since his arrival to
good effect with the capture of goalkeeper Darren Randolph from
Charlton, striker Adam Rooney from Stoke and defender Efe Sodje from
Gillingham.
Recent Encounters:
The match at Gigg Lane in December was Brian Little's
first win in charge of Wrexham with Eifion Williams scoring the only
goal of the game in the first half but the striker has not featured
since the goal after pulling his hamstring in the process of scoring.
Last season, the Friday night game at the Racecourse
was a volatile affair with Lee McEvilly scoring in the first half but
Wrexham had Chris Llewellyn and Ryan Valentine sent off after the break
only for Bury to equalise in injury time.
Bury's last victory at the Racecourse was almost seven
years ago when Jon Newby netted a last minute winner.
The overall league record has us leading the Shakers
with nineteen wins to their seven and there have been eleven draws in
the thirty-seven games between the sides.
Team News:
Wrexham's main injury problems are in midfield with
Danny Sonner, Neil Roberts and Jeff Whitley all rated doubtful for the
game.
Sonner and Roberts have been sidelined with Achilles
and ankle injuries respectively and Whitley damaged knee ligaments at
Wycombe in midweek but his injury was not as bad as first feared.
Steve Evans and Rob Duffy are still unavailable.
Bury are set to welcome back defender Paul Morgan to
their squad following his recovery from a thigh injury.
Dave Challinor misses out again due to his knee injury but Efe Sodje is
available after extending his loan.
Elsewhere in League Two:
Macclesfield's surprise 1-0 win at Dagenham on Tuesday
has lifted the Silkmen five points clear of safety and they entertain a
Shrewsbury side who appointed Paul Simpson as their new manager on
Wednesday.
Notts County are on the same number of points as
Macclesfield but they face the greatest task of all the relegation
rivals when they travel to a Peterborough side that has won their last
eight games.
Second bottom Mansfield, who are still without a
manager, face a trip to Bradford and are in need of a win like us to
close the gap to safety. |
