Key events
Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson – who led fourth-tier Bradford City to the final of this competition in 2013 – talks to ITV. “It’s a great night for us … and for Cardiff as well … we haven’t met for 20-plus years … the chance to progress to the quarter-finals of one of the major cups … there’s a lot at stake tonight … we’ve got good options at the top of the pitch … it’s important to manage the squad … freshness … a strong bench to come on if its needed … I’ve always loved cup football … the memories that can be created … supporters remember the great cup nights … our aim is to make one of those tonight.”
Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy speaks to ITV. “It’s a really exciting night for us all … you could sense the atmosphere on our coach coming to the game … as exciting for the players as it is for the supporters … we feel well prepared … we are going to try to go through … win the game and progress … most of the players and myself have never been near the last eight of this competition so that’s a huge incentive … we want to play the way we’ve been playing this season … have a real go and see if we’re good enough … we’re a very young team … we try to attack … with that comes a risk that we can concede goals but more often than not our players have shown incredible growth and maturity and met every challenge we’ve faced … we’re very confident we can play well.”
There are two other League Cup fixtures being played tonight.
Both kick off at 7.45pm GMT. No cast-iron guarantees, but I’ll try to keep you in the loop about those. A reminder that there’s no extra time in this competition until the semi-final stage, so if the scores are level after the end of the game, it’ll be straight to penalties.
Will Unwin is our man at the Racecourse Ground tonight. He’s already set the scene thus …
… and now he adds another splash of colour with this marvellous on-the-scene BREAKING FIASCO.
An overzealous steward did not allow the man from the Football League carrying the Carabao Cup into the stadium because he did not have the correct accreditation. He did, however, have a massive trophy with him.
Both teams ring the changes after their weekend exertions in the league. Wrexham retain just four starters from their 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough: Max Cleworth, Ryan Longman, George Thomason and George Dobson. Conor Coady returns to the defence.
Cardiff keep six of the lads who started their 1-0 defeat at Bolton. Nathan Trott, Will Fish, Joel Bagan, Rubin Colwill, Omari Kellyman and Yousef Salech hold onto their places. Their captain Calum Chambers is back.
Twelve changes between them, with a place in the quarter-finals of the League Cup up for grabs. It’s live on terrestrial television as well. Arguably the biggest one-for-the-cognoscenti transmission in a prime-time ITV slot since this …
… which to be fair was absolutely magnificent, but the point stands.
The teams
Wrexham: Burton, Cleworth, Coady, Thomason, Barnett, Dobson, Rathbone, O’Brien, Longman, Broadhead, Smith.
Subs: Okonkwo, Hyam, Scarr, McClean, Sheaf, Matty James, Windass, Alexander Moore, Hardie.
Cardiff City: Trott, Kpakio, Chambers, Fish, Bagan, Joel Colwill, Wintle, Rubin Colwill, Kellyman, Ashford, Salech.
Subs: Turner, Ng, Osho, Lawlor, Mafico, Robertson, Turnbull, Nyakuhwa, Davies.
Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey).
Preamble
Cardiff City reached the final of this competition just 13 years ago. They came mighty close to winning their first major trophy since 1927 as well, their opponents Liverpool missing their first two penalties of a shootout, but it wasn’t to be for the Bluebirds. Still, it could have been worse: while Cardiff were battling on the big stage for glamorous bits of silverware, that same season, 2011-12, saw Wrexham fail to extricate themselves from the Conference National for the fourth season in a row.
How times change. Wrexham required another 11 seasons, and a large sprinkle of Hollywood stardust, to regain their Football League status, but having done so, look at them now. They’re currently mid-table in the Championship, ten places and one division above Cardiff, who got themselves relegated last season while Wrexham were heading the other way. So it’s a big status switcheroo, and tonight it’s the Dragons who get the bookies’ nod over their Welsh rivals. Times change all right.
Having said all that, there’s unlikely to be too much in it. Neither team are in the greatest form right now. Wrexham have only lost one of their last six matches, but they’ve only won one too; Cardiff, after a blistering start to their promotion campaign, have lost three of their last five. And yet the feelgood vibes are still strong at both clubs. Throw in the fact these two haven’t met since a Welsh Cup semi-final in 2004 and last met in the league in March 2002 – Wrexham won the cup game, Cardiff the one in the league – and this is poised beautifully. Kick-off is at 8pm GMT. It’s on!
