Wrexham

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Wrexham's Jacques Ekomie has been called up to the Gabon squad for their opening Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

The left wing-back has been included in the Panthers' 24-man squad for their fixtures against Morocco on 25 September and Niger on 29 September.

Ekomie - who joined the Red Dragons from French side Angers in the summer transfer window - has featured in five successive Championship matches for Wrexham.

He scored his first goal for the club in the 3-0 win over Millwall on 2 September and netted a crucial equaliser to earn his side a 1-1 draw with Burnley six days later.

Wrexham will look to bounce back from their bruising 6-0 defeat to West Ham United last week with a victory over another promotional hopeful in Southampton.

After their opening day loss to Watford though, the Saints have not been beaten in the Championship and have been victorious in their past two games, while the Red Dragons have only won one in seven.

• Wrexham have lost four of their last five league meetings with Southampton (W1), including both last season.

• Southampton's two wins over Wrexham last season were by an aggregate score of 7-1 – the most goals any side scored against the Red Dragons in the 2025-26 Championship.

• After only conceding five goals in their first six Championship games this season, Wrexham lost 6-0 to West Ham last time out, their heaviest Football League defeat since February 2004 to Bournemouth (also 6-0).

• Southampton have won 18 league games in 2026, last winning more in a calendar year in 2011 (33), and last doing so within the top two tiers of English football in 2006 (19).

• No player has been involved in more Championship goals this season than Southampton's Finn Azaz (7 – 3 goals, 4 assists), while he leads the competition for open play assists (4) and is joint-first for chances created from open play (14).

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Former Wales defender Danny Gabbidon says Wrexham should not panic after their 6-0 thrashing at West Ham, adding that the defeat could act as a "reset" for the Championship club.

Boss Phil Parkinson - who has managed Wrexham from the National League to the Championship - described the defeat at the London Stadium as among the lowest points of his time at the Hollywood-owned club.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales' Feast of Football phone-in, Gabbidon acknowledged the pressure Parkinson is under, but says the Wrexham boss deserves to be backed.

"I think we should allow the manager a little bit of time after what he's done through previous seasons, how good he's been," said Gabbidon.

"You could sense his disappointment, his frustration after the game and just maybe questioning the mentality and the work rate of his team at the minute.

"I'm sure he'll address that now in the next couple of weeks."

Gabbidon, a former West Ham player, thinks the quality of the Hammers' squad must also be taken into account when assessing Wrexham's performance in east London.

"Pressure will start to build, obviously, if those kind of terrible results continue, but it's still very early in the season," he added.

"You look at that West Ham team, they [Wrexham] won't be the only team that they do that to.

"They've got some fantastic players and if you're slightly off your game and not quite at it, which Wrexham were, then a team like West Ham are capable of doing that."

Gabbidon believes Parkinson should just see it as a "bad day at the office".

"Sometimes when you get those kind of results as a player or as a manager, it just livens and wakens everybody up and resets you," he said.

"Wrexham have been so good for so long now. They've been charging through the divisions.

"They had a good season last season and maybe there's a little bit of complacency there, with new signings coming in again and maybe players not quite up to speed yet.

"So, you just hope a result like that resets everyone, refocuses everyone and the manager will be expecting a positive reaction come the next game."

We asked you for your thoughts on Wrexham in the wake of Friday's heavy defeat at West Ham United.

Here are some of your views.

Tim: Not competitive individually or as a team. Poorly set up and deservingly exposed by the Hammers.

John: It's shone a light. Notwithstanding it's a £300m-plus squad vs a £60m squad, Wrexham don't get taken to the cleaners like that. It'll bring into sharp focus that previous performances this season have been underwhelming (though as Wrexham fans we're used to the long hangover from pre-season). Time for calm heads, always assuming he (Phil Parkinson) has the squad he needs. I expect they'll be taking a good look at what free agents are still out there.

Rod: From that display, Wrexham's aspirations to be a Premier League side are in tatters. If they can be trashed by a relegated side, what would the Premier League clubs do to them week after week? They now know how hard life at the top can be.

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John: A disastrous performance by Wrexham, seemingly the defenders that have been signed are not up to the mark and the failure to hit the target by the strikers is ominous. At best, mid-table, at worst relegation candidates.

William: Wrexham are so negative, always safety first. Parkinson out of his depth, time for him to be thanked for his wonderful service and move on.

Michael: This defeat says more about West Ham than Wrexham. Take it on the chin. Get angry, get even and move on. Maybe a big personality on the pitch, (a role James McClean took on in the past) is missing. Come on Wrexham!

Joe: Their defending was worse than a pub team. They didn't seem to care. The players should pay their supporters' club for the travel expenses.

Gary: A sobering experience for a team that has risen through the tiers in an extraordinary rate of time... Hopefully patience will show to be a mark of wisdom. A well-built structure never totally collapses in a single storm.

Tim: The calls for Parkinson's head will be many, loud and strong now. Too many balls played with the head and not controlled on the ground which ends in lost possession. Same with long balls played into covered spaces. Play isn't forward [and] direct on the ground - it's 75% backwards. Big problems.

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Carl: I do hate to say this but I've felt this for some time Phil's time at the helm has run its course. Tactically we are just all at sea. We were very lucky last year to finish as well as we did but we urgently need to change our approach. I'm disappointed that we didn't take the opportunity to strengthen the defence and midfield. We have talented strikers but at this level it's about getting the ball to them and being able to defend well up the field. Phil's approach of sitting back and soaking up pressure has us not seeing much of the ball. We got away with it last season, this season we will not be so lucky.

Nathan: It's been coming, the squad is average at best and they have been overperforming for some time now. The quality to challenge for promotion to the Premier League is not there. They need to take a step back and reassess their recruitment choices in my opinion.

Colin: Superb story over the last few years - now need a serious revamp.

Former West Ham academy player Ben Sheaf hopes to kickstart his season against the Hammers on Friday evening.

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Wrexham midfielder Ben Sheaf's return to contention after injury could hardly have come at a better time.

The 28-year-old missed the whole of pre-season and has yet to feature this season because of a calf problem.

But Sheaf is back in Wrexham's squad for Friday night's Championship trip to second placed West Ham United – the club where he spent three years as a teenager.

"I used to ball boy a lot at Upton Park when I was a kid because I was at West Ham Academy as a youngster," Sheaf said.

"I enjoyed going and watching the games there at Upton Park.

"It was a great atmosphere and it's always a club I've looked out for."

Wrexham are set to play in front of their biggest ever crowd at the London Stadium, which has a capacity of 62,500.

"I've actually never played at the London Stadium. It'll be good to go there - big crowd in a big stadium," Sheaf added.

"These are the sort of crowds and nights that the club's been building towards over the last few years.

"Hopefully in the future that can be a regularity.

"We're all looking forward to it. They're a top side, so it'll be a tough challenge.

"But if we put our best foot forward we'll have a right chance of getting a result.

"It's nice to be back involved but I've only missed five, six games, so it's not the end of the world.

"There's a long, long season ahead. Hopefully I can contribute for the rest of the season."

It is 45 years since these two sides met in a league game while the last match of any kind came in the FA Cup in 1997 when third-tier Wrexham earned a home draw before shocking their Premier League opponents with a 1-0 victory in east London.

A win for West Ham in Friday's late kick-off (20:00 BST) will send them to the top of the Championship for at least a few hours.

• This will be just the fourth league season in which West Ham and Wrexham have faced, and first since 1980-81 in the second tier, when the Hammers drew 2-2 away and won 1-0 at home.

• Wrexham and West Ham last faced in any competition in the 1996-97 FA Cup third round, with the Red Dragons winning 1-0 in a replay after a 1-1 draw in the initial tie.

• West Ham have won each of their past three league games, last winning four in a row in November 2021 in the Premier League.

• Wrexham have drawn as many as four of their opening six games of a season for just the fourth time in their Football League history, after 1929-30, 1966-67, and 1978-79 (all also four).

• West Ham's Jarrod Bowen has created more chances than any other player in the Championship this season (18), also leading the way for expected assists (2.4) in the competition.

Midfielder Matty James says Wrexham are not becoming preoccupied with their wait for a first home league win of the season.

The Dragons came from behind to earn a point against Burnley at the Racecourse Ground on Tuesday, having previously drawn 1-1 with Watford and lost 2-1 to Birmingham City on home soil.

Wrexham also had to be patient for their first home Championship victory last season, eventually registering it on 22 October, 11 games into the season.

"There's still some very, very good moments from the home game this evening," James told BBC Sport Wales following a 1-1 draw against Burnley.

"There are still positives to take from it, and I think for us it's not to worry about them kind of stats just yet.

"It was a slow start [last season]. I didn't know it was that late, to be honest. But we put in performances away from home."

Wrexham are unbeaten on the road in the league this season, having won at Millwall and earned draws away to Welsh rivals Cardiff City and Swansea City.

They face a big test on Friday, 11 September (20:00 BST) against Championship leaders West Ham United at the London Stadium.

"It's a game that we relish because it's a big game against another ex-Premier League team in a big stadium," James said.

"It's a big opportunity for us, and I think if we go there with the mentality that we've had for most of these last couple of games, then we'll give them a really good game."

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Wrexham could be boosted by the returns of Nathan Broadhead and Ben Sheaf to their options for Tuesday's visit of Burnley (19:45 BST).

The Clarets are without a win this season following their relegation from the Premier League and head to north Wales at the foot of the Championship.

Wrexham, meanwhile, are seeking their first home success of the campaign after four points from two away days suggested they have found their rhythm.

Wales international Broadhead missed the win at Millwall and Saturday's goalless Welsh derby in Swansea with what was described as a "minor knock".

Midfielder Sheaf, meanwhile, has yet to feature this season having been a key man for the side in last year's bid for the play-offs.

But both returned to training on Monday and came through unscathed, with boss Phil Parkinson set to make a decision on the day of the game.

"We want as many options as we can go going into this next run of games," said Parkinson, whose side travel to West Ham on Friday.

Parkinson said Broadhead "had a great pre-season where he showed some real quality".

The manager added: "He's done some work over the weekend and Sheaffy has been back in so we're really pleased with that."

Parkinson said Callum O'Hare has suffered something of a dead leg after a challenge from Ben Cabango in the Swansea clash.

That incident saw Parkinson claim the Wales centre-back should have been sent off and was keen to speak to the referee for his view following Saturday night's media duties, but has since said he had nothing to add.

It is 26 years since these two sides last faced each other in the league during which time Wrexham have dropped to non-league football before their rise back up the divisions.

Burnley are hoping to record a first win of the campaign, having managed only two points from their opening five games since relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season.

• Wrexham and Burnley last faced in the 1999-00 third tier season, with the Clarets completing a league double over the Welsh side.

• Burnley have won nine of their past 10 league matches against Welsh clubs (D1) since a 1-0 Premier League defeat by Swansea in February 2018.

• Last season, Wrexham only won one of their six Championship games against sides relegated from the Premier League the season before (D3 L2), beating Ipswich 5-3 at home in February.

• Burnley have lost each of their past seven away league games, last losing more in a row in March 2010 (10).

• Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has managed two previous league games against Burnley and lost them both, first with Hull in October 2006 (0-2) and then with Charlton in January 2009 (1-2).

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Callum O'Hare "can't wait" to make his home debut after a hectic welcome to Wrexham since completing his deadline-day move from Sheffield United.

The 28-year-old got up in the early hours on Tuesday morning to seal his switch to the Racecourse Ground before Wrexham's trip to Millwall.

O'Hare then raced to London on the train, arriving hours before kick-off to make the squad, but remained an unused sub as Wrexham won 3-0 at the Den.

Then came his first Welsh derby. He was thrust in from the start by Phil Parkinson, even though he had not yet trained with all of his new teammates.

And O'Hare very nearly capped off a whirlwind few days with his maiden Wrexham goal on debut at Swansea, but the former Coventry man dragged his chance wide.

"I probably should have had a goal, but I'm always going to be there, so hopefully that will come," former England youth international O'Hare admitted.

"I feel like I've settled in well. I'm yet to train with everyone, so hopefully, by doing so, I'll improve and get to know everyone's game."

He added: "It's been crazy, honestly. I woke up really early on deadline day to try to get everything done so I could be in the squad for the Wednesday game.

"Then I had to get the train up [to London]. The boys were already there. I got there for 5pm and still managed to be in the squad."

On the game at Swansea, O'Hare said: "I'm gutted that we didn't get three points, but they are a good team who keep the ball well.

"We just had to dig in, really, and concentrate for the whole game, which I think we did."

After having failed to keep a clean sheet in their first four games across all competitions, Wrexham have now kept back-to-back shutouts.

Four points earned from that win at Millwall and Saturday's draw with Swansea have the Red Dragons sat 11th in the Championship table.

And there will be no let-up for Wrexham as they face relegated sides Burnley and West Ham before the end of this week.

Parkinson's charges first host winless Burnley on Tuesday evening (19:45 BST) before another trip to the capital on Friday.

O'Hare, who previously scored at the Racecourse Ground as a Sheffield United player, is excited to play in front of the Wrexham faithful.

"It's perfect. That's what we play football for, we can't wait," he said.

"We want to go into Tuesday night full of confidence after two good away performances. Now we want to bring that to the Racecourse."

"When we played against Wrexham, especially at the Racecourse, that game was mental. As a player, you could feel the excitement and the passion from the pitch.

"It's something I'm looking forward to. I can't wait to go there, meet everyone and hopefully get the three points."