Wrexham

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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.

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Wrexham are "still in the mix" to do well in the Championship this season despite their setback at Hull City, according to the club's former midfielder Waynne Phillips.

The Red Dragons' nine-game unbeaten run in the league was ended by the Tigers on Wednesday night as Kyle Joseph and Oli McBurnie scored either side of Kieffer Moore's penalty miss at the MKM Stadium.

Despite Wrexham being well below their best against Sergej Jakirovic's outfit, Phillips believes Phil Parkinson's side can still be in contention for a play-off spot at the business end of the campaign.

"Nothing will change my view on the 95 minutes of football here at Hull. I'm disappointed with what I've seen, but I still think they're in the mix with a lot of other teams to do well in the Championship this season," Phillips told BBC Radio Wales.

"They'll look back and see what they could have done better here this evening and learn from the mistakes they've made.

"I'm sure Phil Parkinson is like myself, they never get too high when they win and they won't get too low when they lose.

"He'll be thinking now of how he can pick a team to win on Saturday at the Racecourse. It's always about how you bounce back, Hull did it tonight."

Parkinson was left to rue naming an unchanged starting line-up following his side's 1-1 draw with Preston North End at Deepdale four days earlier, with Wrexham lacking their usual energy against Hull.

And Phillips feels the Wrexham boss could make several changes to his team for Saturday's contest with Watford at the Stok Cae Ras (15:00 GMT).

"They'll come away from games sometimes thinking they were the better team and have lost or drawn. But tonight they can have no complaints with the outcome," he said.

"It'll be a deflated changing room for Wrexham, but they've got to get on with it."

On the potential changes, Phillips added: "As a player, every single one of them will be worried if they're starting on Saturday. I'm sure we'll see changes just to freshen it up again."

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Phil Parkinson was left to rue naming an unchanged starting line-up as Wrexham were beaten 2-0 by Hull City at the MKM Stadium.

The visitors selected the same side that started Saturday's 1-1 draw at Preston North End for the contest with the Tigers as Wrexham's nine-game unbeaten Championship run came to an end.

"We went with the same team with the extra day of rest and I felt that was the right decision," Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales.

"Hindsight is a wonderful thing. When you looked at the performance and the lack of energy in the team, I've got to review that.

"However, we've been on a great run and the lads have given us a lot in a tough league.

"We've put in some really good performances in the nine-game run we've been on so I don't want to be too critical. I will review myself and my decisions and we'll respond at the weekend."

Kyle Joseph and Oli McBurnie netted either side of Kieffer Moore's second half penalty miss as the Red Dragons were beaten for the first time in the league since losing 1-0 at Stoke City in mid-October.

And while frustrated with his side's showing in Hull, Parkinson felt Wales striker Moore's penalty miss proved pivotal in the contest.

"It was a disappointing performance. The first half we gave the ball away too many times in dangerous areas," added Parkinson.

"We'd spoken about them reacting to Friday (Hull's loss to Middlesbrough) and pressing. We tried to play through it and we were too slow on the ball and invited that press.

"We conceded a goal which was one we could have dealt with but we had a great chance with Kieffer to level it.

"Second half I thought we started really well, got the penalty and that's the deciding moment in the game which was frustrating for us because if that goes in it could have been a different picture."

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Phil Parkinson confirmed Wrexham have no fresh injury concerns ahead of their Championship contest with Hull City tonight (20:00 GMT).

Long-term absentees Andy Cannon, Danny Ward and Jay Rodriguez are continuing to work their way back to full fitness while the likes of Elliot Lee, Liberato Cacace and Lewis Brunt are currently sidelined.

But Parkinson will have the same group of players who were involved in the 1-1 draw with Preston North End on Saturday to select from for his side's trip to the MKM Stadium.

"We've had a good couple of days with the lads. I've been pleased with how the lads have recovered from the weekend, and how the other ones who didn't start have trained," he told BBC Sport Wales.

"There's no knocks or anything, everybody's come through the game well.

"No one fresh comes in to the squad, but equally everyone who was available for the weekend is still available."

Transfer deadline day signing Issa Kabore remains absent as a result of the hamstring injury he sustained while on international duty with Burkina Faso in November.

But Parkinson was eager to praise Ryan Barnett for his showing against Preston in the absence of Kabore - who is "progressing well" in his recovery.

"He's doing fine, he's progressing well. He lives close by to Man City's training ground so it's logical for him to go in there rather than sitting in his car and driving here each day," Parkinson said of Kabore.

"Kev [head of performance medicine and sports science, Kevin Mulholland] is monitoring him. He's been to the games and we've touched base with him.

"The injury was a frustrating one for him and us, but equally other players get an opportunity.

"I was so pleased for Ryan Barnett at the weekend. He came in and made a statement with his display.

"I'm very pleased because everyone knows of the contribution Ryan has made in his time with us. His chances have been limited, but he showed what he is, which is a real talent."

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Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson described his side's FA Cup third-round draw with Nottingham Forest as a "great tie" ahead of the meeting between the sides in January.

The Red Dragons 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 Premier League opposition for the first time under Parkinson when Sean Dyche takes his side to the Stok Cae Ras in the New Year.

All matches will be played around the weekend commencing Saturday, 10 January 2026.

"It's a great tie for us, it couldn't have been better really in terms of having a home tie against a Premier League club," Parkinson told BBC Sport Wales.

"I just thought it was great. It's one we can look forward to after Christmas."

Dyche is the third manager to take charge of Forest so far this season, with Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou both departing earlier on in the campaign.

While primarily focused on his side's upcoming league schedule, Parkinson said he is relishing the opportunity to lock horns with former Watford, Burnley and Everton boss Dyche.

"He's definitely a good manager, I've come across Sean in the past," added Parkinson.

"He's very well respected in football. I think he probably got undervalued at the job he did at Burnley - keeping them in the Premier League year after year was an incredible achievement.

"He's started well at Forest, he's got them going and it'll be a great game, it really will, cup football is brilliant.

"For us now, we'll put that on the back burner. There was a buzz about the place this morning because we've always said we'd love to get a Premier League team at home and we've been able to do that, but now it's about focusing on the league form."

Hull City will hope to get their play-off quest back on track when they welcome Wrexham on Wednesday night (20:00 GMT).

The Tigers have won just two of their past six games (L4) and were well beaten in the 4-1 loss at home to Middlesbrough last time out.

The Red Dragons have adapted well to life in the Championship after three back-to-back promotions and are unbeaten in their past nine games (W4 D5).

Victory for Wrexham at the MKM Stadium would see them leapfrog Hull and keep them firmly in the mix for a top six challenge.

• This is the first league meeting between Hull City and Wrexham since February 2005, and a 2-1 win for the Tigers under Peter Taylor in League One.

• This is also the first league meeting between Hull and Wrexham in the second tier or higher, with their previous 38 meetings coming in either the third (36) or fourth (2) tier of English football.

• Hull have won just two of their past 13 league games against promoted sides (D6 L5), though one of those was a 3-2 victory against Birmingham City this season.

• Hull have lost 10 of their past 15 midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Championship games (W3 D2), though all five where they've avoided defeat have been at home.

• Wrexham have conceded just one goal in their four midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) Championship games this season (W2 D2), keeping a clean sheet in each of the past three.