Swansea City and Wrexham will meet in the league for the 33rd time this Saturday evening. Rarely, if ever, can there have been a more eagerly anticipated encounter between two clubs who are rivals, of sorts, despite being from opposite corners of Wales. The fixture which matters most to Swansea fans is against Cardiff City, their neighbours in the south of the country.
For Wrexham, meanwhile, local squabbles with Chester and Shrewsbury Town have traditionally been the games which have come with the greatest significance. But Swansea against Wrexham has a derby feel too, even though the cities are more than 100 miles apart. And this particular meeting comes with increased stakes because both clubs have eyes on the Premier League.
Wrexham ended last season as top dogs in Wales, with Phil Parkinson's side finishing seventh in the Championship and Vitor Matos' Swansea seven points worse off in 11th. It was the first time since 2000-01 - when they came 10th in what is now League One - that Wrexham had finished a campaign as the best-placed Welsh side in the English pyramid. After three successive promotions, Wrexham, who beat Swansea at home in March after losing the reverse fixture last December, narrowly missed out on a play-off chance in May.
But their best-in-Wales status was another sign of the extraordinary progress they have made since Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac took charge of the club in 2021. Cardiff City's promotion from League One means that for only the third time, Wales' three heavyweight clubs are together in the second tier this season. Given that the three teams have never competed together in the top flight - Swansea and Cardiff have met there in just one season, while Wrexham have not played at the highest level - a three-way Championship scrap is a big deal in Wales.
But to an extent the fight to be crowned the nation's leading team is a sideshow, with both Swansea and Wrexham chasing a greater prize. Most observers would regard Cardiff as outsiders to feature in the promotion race next spring as they look to re-establish themselves at second-tier level. But the picture is different for Swansea and Wrexham, who both showed considerable ambition in the transfer market for the second year in a row this summer as they look to compete with the Championship's top sides.
These are very early days in the season, but the signs from Swansea have been encouraging, with a tally of 10 points from four games putting them on top of the table. They have conceded only one league goal so far - the best record in the EFL - while Matos' team produced some of Swansea's best football in years during Tuesday's win over Watford. The Swans are in buoyant mood, while Wrexham should make the journey south with renewed confidence following their midweek triumph at Millwall.
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