Wrexham

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Phil Parkinson says Wrexham must savour the occasion when they face Swansea City in front of a bumper crowd on Friday (20:00 GMT).

Home tickets for the first league meeting of Wales' two leading clubs in 22 years have long since sold out.

Parkinson says he will remind his players what an "intense atmosphere" could mean – but insists Wrexham should be used to this sort of challenge.

"You've got to be ready for that and I think that's key," said the Wrexham boss.

"We've played in some full houses this season - Southampton away, Leicester, Ipswich - so we're kind of used to that experience of sell-out crowds, which you often get in the Championship.

"Everywhere we've been over the last four years it's been full crowds, so as a group we're used to that.

"But equally, each game we all need reminding what that kind of intensity brings, how we need to start the game, how we need to approach it."

Though Welsh derby pride will be on the line, Parkinson says Wrexham must play with "calmness" if they are to take the points at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Wrexham travel south having lost just once in their past 11 league games, while struggling Swansea have been beaten in six of their past eight.

The Swans will play for the sixth time under the guidance of Vitor Matos, who was named successor to the sacked Alan Sheehan last month.

"He's tweaked the formation a bit, as you'd probably expect, because when you get a manager's job there's a reason you get it," Parkinson added.

"We've had a good look at Swansea, we've looked at the strengths of the team and also the weaknesses as well, and we'll look to execute that game plan as well as we can."

Midfielder Ollie Rathbone says Wrexham's players are "licking their lips" because they have the chance to "make a name for themselves" when they face Swansea City on Friday.

Wrexham travel south for a first league encounter with their Welsh rivals for 22 years.

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Wrexham striker Ryan Hardie is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury during last weekend's draw with Watford.

Hardie, who has scored once in 10 appearances since joining Wrexham from Plymouth in the summer, came on for the last 12 minutes of the 2-2 draw at Stok Cae Ras.

But the 28-year-old Scot now looks set to miss a number of games, starting with Friday's fixture at Swansea City (20:00 GMT).

"Unfortunately Ryan Hardie, on that chance he had towards the end [of the Watford game], just fell awkwardly on his knee and he's going to face a spell out of action," said Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson.

"He doesn't need an operation but it's just one of those innocuous moments, which is a shame for Ryan."

Hardie has featured in six Championship games for Wrexham this campaign but started only two of those.

His one Wrexham goal to date came in their EFL Cup win at Preston North End in August.

The Swansea trip is the first of five league games Wrexham must play in 16 days across the hectic festive period.

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Iwan Roberts feels Wrexham have had too many draws this season but is impressed by their Championship form.

Ollie Rathbone struck in added time last time out as Phil Parkinson's men claimed a 2-2 draw with Watford at the Stok Cae Ras.

The point stretched the Red Dragons' unbeaten home run in the league to eight matches, although Wrexham are now without a win in four Championship games.

The Watford result means Wrexham have drawn 10 of their 21 league matches this season, more than any other side in the English Football League.

"Watford had the joint-worst away record in the Championship and I feel like Wrexham dropped points, although they were fortunate in the end with Ollie Rathbone, on his first Championship appearance of the season, scoring his first goal of the season in the 92nd minute to earn a point," former Wales striker Roberts told BBC Radio Cymru.

"They're 14th in the Championship now but only six points from the play-offs.

"You look at their record in the Championship, it's great. Only the top three have lost fewer games than Wrexham.

"The problem for Wrexham is that they've had too many draws. They've had five in their past eight and 10 in total.

"If they'd lost half of those games and won half of those games, they'd be in the top six.

"But it's a good run, fair play, and they've got a massive game at the Swansea.com Stadium on Friday night."

Wrexham face Swansea City, Sheffield United and Preston North End in their final three fixtures of 2025.

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Phil Parkinson says the club have to be "careful" with Issa Kabore and Liberato Cacace as they both edge closer to a return to action.

The Wrexham boss indicated that left back, Cacace, is closer to returning than Burkina Faso international Kabore.

The 24-year-old is still recovering at parent-club Man City and his chances of participating at AFCON are still up in the air.

"Kabore is a bit longer and further away, he's still at Man City and AFCON is an issue aswell.

"When he came in he really added to the spirit and determination on the pitch and I said to him we've got to be careful and make sure he's right," Parkinson said.

The right wing-back has been out since November due to a hamstring injury he sustained while on international duty.

The Wrexham boss was more optimistic when discussing Cacace's return to fitness, suggesting that the New Zealander was not far off.

He said: "Libby was back on the grass this week so we've just got to keep our fingers crossed that we can get him back because we've got two really good players there."

The 24-year-old made the move to north Wales from Italian side Emopli in the summer but has only made seven appearances for the Red Dragons following an injury-hit start to his career with the Welsh club.

He last featured on 5 November in a 0-0 draw against Portsmouth when he suffered a calf injury that has kept him out of action ever since.

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Phil Parkinson feels Wrexham need to strike the right balance in and out of possession as they look to return to winning ways against Watford (15:00 GMT).

The Red Dragons' nine-game unbeaten league run was ended by Hull City in midweek, although Wrexham have not lost any of their past seven Championship games at Stok Cae Ras.

Alongside Portsmouth, the Hornets have the joint-worst away record in the league, although Parkinson says his side will need to be wary of Watford's talents.

"They've got some talented players who've been with the club a while," the Wrexham boss told BBC Sport Wales.

"They've got talent, they can be open at times, but equally they've got players who've got good attacking ability.

"It's up to us to get the balance right in our game to make sure that we're in good shape out of possession, but equally that we show quality with the ball ourselves and I think if we do that we'll get opportunities."

Wrexham sit just one point and two places behind Watford in the Championship table ahead of the meeting between the sides.

But following his side's disappointing defeat by Hull on Wednesday night, Parkinson urged his players to concentrate on their own performance against Javi Gracia's men rather than overly focusing on the opposition.

"We said to the lads that Watford are a difficult team to really pin down in terms of how they play," added Parkinson.

"It's a day of us concentrating on ourselves as a group and getting our standards to where they need to be and that's what we're going to do."

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Arthur Okonkwo believes he is continuing to improve in the Championship having played a key role in Wrexham's growth in the division.

The goalkeeper has started 16 successive league matches after replacing summer signing Danny Ward when the Wales international sustained an elbow injury at Millwall in late August.

He has kept five clean sheets during that run and feels consistency will be key for the remainder of the season.

"I said it before the season, this league's going to be really difficult. It takes a lot of adaptation, getting used to a league," the 24-year-old told BBC Sport Wales.

"But I feel confident now. I feel like I'm in a good place.

"I just need to keep consistency, keep going, try my best with the team in every game and hopefully we can win some more games and keep some more clean sheets."

Okonkwo is comfortably the youngest of Wrexham's trio of first-team goalkeepers, which also includes Ward and Callum Burton.

And Okonkwo says the experience of his colleagues has been pivotal for his own development.

"The goalkeepers' union is always good. Cal and Wardy are both older than me, so I had to pick up a lot of things from them," he explained.

"They have much more experience than me, obviously being in the game for much longer.

"But they're always positive, they're always giving me confidence going into every game, so it's good to have both of them around."

With Ward nearing a return to action after more than three months on the sidelines, Okonkwo could face a battle to keep hold of his starting place in the new year.

However, the Arsenal academy product says he is concentrating solely on his performances.

"I'm not thinking about that," he said.

"I'm just focusing on myself and giving it the best I can give and that's a decision for the manager."

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Wrexham's FA Cup third-round meeting with Nottingham Forest has been selected for live TV coverage, meaning the tie will be played on Friday, 9 January (19:30 GMT).

Premier League Forest's trip to Wales is one of eight chosen for live television coverage across the third-round weekend.

Wrexham have played several high-profile cup fixtures in recent years, including against Sheffield United in both the FA Cup and League Cup and Coventry City in the FA Cup.

But they will face top-flight opposition for the first time under Phil Parkinson when Sean Dyche's Forest side head to the Stok Cae Ras, with the game to be shown on TNT Sports and discovery+.

Forest were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at Swansea City earlier this season.

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Wrexham are in slightly unfamiliar territory going into this game against Watford on Saturday (15:00 GMT) as their nine-game unbeaten run in the Championship was ended by Hull City earlier in the week.

Defeat by the Tigers saw the Red Dragons slip to 14th in the Championship table, although they are just four points adrift of the play-off places.

Phil Parkinson's side are just a point behind Watford and will know how significant picking up points in this game will be in the jostle to get closer to the play-off positions.

Watford sit 12th in the table after snatching a late leveller against Sheffield Wednesday in their last league outing.

A win for the Hornets are three points adrift the top six in a congested tussle at that end of the table.

• Wrexham and Watford have not met in any competition since an April 1998 league clash won 1-0 by the Hornets with a goal from Jason Lee.

• In the second tier in six meetings between Wrexham and Watford, the Hornets won five and lost one between 1979-80 and 1981-82.

• Wrexham have won four of their last five home league matches (D1) and are unbeaten in seven (W4 D3) since a 3-1 defeat to QPR in September.

• Watford have won just one of their last 15 away league games (D4 L10), beating Derby 3-2 in November, while they've kept just three clean sheets in their last 34 on the road.

• This will be Phil Parkinson's first league game against Watford since March 2009 when he was Charlton manager - he lost 3-2 at the Valley against a Hornets side managed by Brendan Rodgers.