Football betting tips: Carabao Cup
1pt Nathan Broadhead to score anytime at 3/1 (General)
1pt James McClean to be shown a card at 10/3 (Betfred)
The fact this match, albeit a Welsh derby, between a Championship and a League One club has been chosen for live broadcast by ITV1 shows the pull Wrexham now have, driven by the hobby fans drawn in by their Disney+ powered ascent up the divisions.
After three successive promotions and another summer spending spree it's been a steady start to life in the second tier. Wrexham sit perfectly in mid-table, as close to the top six as they are the bottom three.
Cardiff are also playing, by the way.
The Bluebirds top a division characterised by an inconsistency best summed up by their most recent run of three defeats in six League One matches, a sequence of results that has actually seen them climb the table.
Brian Barry-Murphy's side reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup by claiming the scalp of Premier League club Burnley, but while Scott Parker carries a reputation for being utterly dismissive of cup competitions, Phil Parkinson could hardly be more different.
Expect Wrexham to draw upon their significant squad depth and name as strong a team as they reasonably can. Given they are in action in the Championship on Friday night, their changes will likely mirror those made in previous rounds.
NATHAN BROADHEAD, a £10m summer signing from Ipswich, has been in superb form since scoring his first goal for the club in the 2-0 win over Reading that secured this tie.
The Wales international has scored four times in eight appearances for club and country, but only two of those matches have been starts - he found the net on both those occasions. At 3/1 TO SCORE ANYTIME we should back him to do so.
Another player who has struggled to nail down a place in the regular starting XI is JAMES MCCLEAN.
The experienced left wing-back is always a reliable man for a booking, especially in a derby. With him likely to start here and potentially dealing with the tricky Cardiff right side of Omari Kellyman and Perry Ng, we should take the 10/3 for him TO BE SHOWN A CARD.
Before losing his place this term, McClean had been shown 29 cards in 89 Wrexham appearances.
Odds correct at 1440 GMT (27/10/25)
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