Friday night at the Racecourse Stadium isn’t the sort of trip anyone circles with a smile. It’s tight, cold, and the noise hits you before the players even come out.
Ipswich Town and Wrexham have already had their league meeting this season at Portman Road, but this is their first FA Cup clash since 1995.
A 7:45pm kick‑off, a bit of edge in the air, and another game between them next week, it all feels a bit loaded.
McKenna comes into this with that usual stillness, the kind that makes it look like he’s watching a different sport to everyone else. He’ll want Ipswich to calm the place down, take the sting out of the early shove Wrexham will throw at them, and just play.
He knows exactly what this tie can turn into if Town get dragged into the wrong sort of game. His whole thing is control, not letting the night dictate the football.
Parkinson will be the total opposite. He’ll lean into the chaos, the crowd, the elbows, the second balls, the stuff that makes a cup tie feel like a cup tie. He’ll want Ipswich rattled, rushed, and reacting instead of thinking.
If he can turn this into a scrap, he’ll back his side to make it uncomfortable enough to matter. That’s the whole point of the night for him.
Only one meeting, and Wrexham took it. Old story, but it sits there in the background anyway.
Ipswich stick with the 4‑2‑3‑1, leaning on Matusiwa and Neil to keep the middle steady. Akpom floats, Mehmeti drifts, McAteer runs himself into the ground, and Azon gives them that raw edge up top. Johnson and Boniface will be asked to push high and stretch Wrexham’s back three.
Wrexham’s 3‑4‑2‑1 is built for nights like this, compact, stubborn, and ready to break at pace. Thomason and Sheaf bring the bite, while O’Brien and Moore, who Town fans know well, look for pockets. They’ll try to crowd Azon and force Ipswich into wide, scrappy areas where the game gets ugly.
Ipswich Town Predicted XI
Predicted XI: Palmer; Johnson, Baggott, Greaves, Boniface; Matusiwa, Neil; McAteer, Akpom, Clarke; Azon.
Injuries: Townsend (ACL), Núñez (knock), Young (muscle), Burns (groin).
Núñez and Philogene could return for next week’s league meeting.
Wrexham’s Predicted XI
Predicted XI: Ward; Scarr, Hyam, Doyle; Dobson, Thomason, Sheaf, Rathbone; O’Brien, Windass, Moore.
Injuries/Suspensions: A. James, Cacace (knee), Brunt (thigh), M. James (finger), Vyner (ankle).
Ex‑Ipswich: Moore (23/24), Broadhead (23–25).
This feels like a proper cup tie where rhythm, rotation, and the atmosphere all play a part.
Prediction: Wrexham 1–2 Ipswich Town
