Northampton Town v Wrexham: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Wrexham have allowed a four-point gap to open up between themselves and the automatic promotion places in League One, but they have an ideal opportunity to put some pressure on second-placed Wycombe on Saturday.

The Red Dragons are playing in one of two early kick-offs on Saturday when they visit Northampton Town at Sixfields and a victory would see them move to within one point of the Chairboys, who visit Crawley later in the day.

Wrexham have been a real force at home, with 12 wins and only one defeat in 16 league games in front of their own fans, including a comfortable 4-1 victory over the Cobblers in early October.

However, their away record is the reason why they are currently only in the playoff positions, with just four wins secured in 13 league fixtures on the road.

Northampton, who finished a solid 14th last season, have stayed just clear of the relegation places for most of this campaign and start the day in 17th place, six points clear of the bottom four.

Northampton Town v Wrexham betting tips and predictions

Wrexham to win & both teams to score - 15/4

Wrexham's road record must be a worry for favourite-backers in this game but Phil Parkinson's side bolstered their firepower in the January transfer window and have already won away from home twice in February.

The Welsh side were somewhat fortunate to win 2-1 at struggling Crawley in their last league away game as there looked to be a foul in the build-up to Elliot Lee's winning goal deep into added time.

There was no mistake about their 4-1 EFL Trophy success over League Two Port Vale, though, and Wrexham made further progress in that competition with a 1-0 home win over Bolton on Tuesday.

The promotion-chasers rested their top strikers Sam Smith and Jay Rodriguez for that game, but Northampton had no midweek fixture so should be the fresher squad overall.

The Cobblers have made noticeable improvements since Kevin Nolan took over as manager in December, and last week's 1-0 win at Mansfield, which followed a 3-2 home victory over top-six side Huddersfield, was the first time they had chalked up consecutive wins all season.

A midfield strengthened by the arrivals of Liam Shaw and Terry Taylor has been key to their recent success and a lengthy injury list that has dogged the Cobblers all season is slowly beginning to clear.

Northampton turned in one of their worst performances of the season in their away game at Wrexham and a third straight win may be beyond them. The draw is worth considering but preference is for the away side to win a game in which both teams score at even better odds.

The Cobblers have won only five of their 13 home league matches with a negative goal difference and Wrexham's expensive strikeforce could make the difference.

Sam Smith anytime goalscorer - 11/5

Sam Smith reportedly became Wrexham's record signing when the club owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney splashed out to purchase him from Reading two weeks ago and he will be eyeing this game as a great opportunity to score his first goal for the club.

Smith has already scored against Northampton this season, netting Reading's second goal in their 4-1 home win in Nolan's first match in charge on Boxing Day.

The 26-year-old is joint-fourth in the League One top scorer list with 11 goals and it should not be long before he opens his Wrexham account.

Over 3.5 goals - 3/1

The first match between these clubs since the 2005-06 season produced five goals in Wales in October and the chances of another high-scoring affair may be underestimated in the odds.

Northampton have improved their defensive effort in recent games with youngster Max Dyche impressing since returning from a loan spell at Woking and Jordan Willis showing his class after returning from injury, but captain Jon Guthrie and fellow centre-back TJ Eyoma are among the home team's injured contingent.

While Northampton dug in to earn a clean-sheet success at Mansfield in their last outing, their previous two matches against Bolton and Huddersfield had produced four and five goals respectively and something similar could unfold at a sold-out Sixfields.

Both teams had scored in five successive games for Wrexham before their midweek 1-0 EFL Trophy win and a relatively entertaining match could unfold in Northamptonshire.

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Northampton Town v Wrexham odds

Northampton Town - 5/2
Draw - 13/5
Wrexham - 1/1

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.