Shrewsbury vs Wrexham Prediction: Another Shrews cup thriller in Shropshire?

Shrewsbury Town are looking to progress to the FA Cup fourth round for the first time in four years when they host Wrexham AFC on Sunday (KO, 14:00).

The Shrews hit the headlines in 2020 when they beat Bristol City in the third round and forced a replay against Liverpool in the next stage of the competition, but tricky ties in subsequent years against the Reds, Southampton and Sunderland have seen them fail to reach those heights since.

On paper, a home tie against League Two opposition is an enticing prospect, but Wrexham are no ordinary fourth-tier club, and Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny will be hoping to at least match the feats of last season, when the then-National League side took Sheffield United to a replay in the fourth round.

Team News

Shrewsbury defender Aaron Pierre, who scored the winning goal in the third round against Bristol City in January 2020 to set up a fourth round tie with Liverpool, will hope to earn a start on Sunday after only appearing as a substitute in the last two games.

Tom Bayliss and Max Mata will also be looking for starting berths after cameos against Fleetwood Town, while Ryan Bowman - whose hat-trick against Notts County sent Shrewsbury through to this stage of the competition - is expected to keep his place in attack.

The visitors are also likely to name a strong team on Sunday, and that should see ex-Wolves striker Steven Fletcher - who scored a hat-trick of his own against Barrow on Monday - paired up top with last season's FA Cup top scorer, Paul Mullin.

Match Odds

The hosts are 12/5 to win on Sunday while the draw - which would send the tie to a replay at the Racehorse Ground - is priced at 5/2. Wrexham are favourites to claim victory in Shropshire, though, at 11/10.

Both teams to score is 8/13 and it's 8/11 for over 2.5 goals.

Draw or Wrexham and both teams to score @ 11/10

Shrewsbury have lost four of their last five League One matches, and considering the strength and form of Wrexham - the Red Dragons have won four of their last five - it's hard to see the League Two side falling to defeat on Sunday.

However, Shrewsbury's strong record at New Meadow this season must be respected - only six clubs in the third-tier have collected more points at home than the Shrews.

In fact, Matt Taylor's side have won seven of their last 10 games in all competitions there, losing only to League One's top three - Bolton Wanderers, Portsmouth and Peterborough United - in that period.

They've managed at least a goal in eight of those matches, and they rediscovered their goalscoring touch in their last game, a 3-1 win over Fleetwood, which ended a two-game goalless run.

Fleetwood are bottom of League One, though, and Wrexham should pose a tougher test, despite the difference in divisions. The Welsh side have only failed to score in a game on three occasions this season, and they've hit 23 goals in their last nine games.

Over 3.5 goals @ 7/4

Wrexham are one of League Two's great entertainers, with an average of 3.52 goals per match (for/against) this term. The Red Dragons have scored the greater majority of them - 52 - with 36 shipped the other way.

10 of Wrexham's 25 league games have seen at least four goals scored in them, with only four clubs in the fourth-tier seeing that occur on more occasions.

The over 3.5 goals bet has landed in Wrexham's last two, and two of their last three away from home.

Shrewsbury's last match saw four goals scored, and it's happened a further five times this season, including their two previous games in the FA Cup - a 3-2 win over Colchester City in the first round and the same scoreline at Notts County in the second round.

Check out the rest of our Football Betting Tips here.