Wrexham give Chelsea ‘hardest game of season’ but cannot find Hollywood ending

Wrexham host Premier League Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round tonight in the biggest fixture at the Racecourse Ground since Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds became owners almost five years ago.

The Welsh side have surged from English football’s fifth tier to the second with three successive promotions and are now lying sixth in the Championship, pushing for a place in the Premier League via the play-offs.

Wrexham went into administration in 2004, and for years the club survived on volunteer labour. A week before the season kicked off, fans would turn up to paint, sweep and fix locks on the turnstiles.

They toppled Nottingham Forest earlier in their FA Cup run, but facing eight-time winners Chelsea is another step up in class.

Liam Rosenior has only lost three games since taking over at Stamford Bridge, all of them to Arsenal, but Wednesday’s 4-1 victory over Aston Villa was a marker of progress after some sloppy dropped points.

Chelsea will be mindful of a Champions League last-16 tie against PSG this week, as well as the pressing priority of qualifying for that competition via a top-five finish in the Premier League.

Win tonight though, and Rosenior will be three games away from a major trophy which would go some way to ingratiating him with a sceptical Chelsea fanbase. Romeo Lavia is back for Chelsea, but Rosenior will not risk wingers Estevao and Jamie Gittens.

Wrexham were part of one of the FA Cup’s greatest upsets when they beat Arsenal in the 1992 third round, when Mickey Thomas scored a famous free-kick.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said: “When you go around the Wrexham area, the game most supporters will speak about is that Arsenal game, and this is our chance now to make some more memories for our supporters in the FA Cup.

“We did that with a great game against Nottingham Forest that went to a penalty shoot-out, and then obviously the Ipswich game. We’ve earned the right to have this kind of prestigious draw against Chelsea.

“We’re on a good run, and we’ve done well at home. It’s all about bringing our best performance to the table on Saturday night.”

Full team news on the way shortly.