Ryan Reynolds makes a worthwhile visit as Wrexham take big step towards promotion

Rarely will Huddersfield Town be as popular in Wrexham — or Hollywood, after Ryan Reynolds made a flying visit to north Wales for what may well prove a season-defining afternoon — as they will be, come 7.45pm on Tuesday evening.

Wrexham’s automatic promotion fate is in their own hands for the first time this season after a 3-0 win against 10-man Burton Albion stretched the gap to third-placed Wycombe Wanderers to six points.

Any slip-up, however, and Wycombe will be waiting to pounce, making their midweek trip to the John Smith’s Stadium for their game in hand on Phil Parkinson’s side potentially pivotal.

Anything but an away victory and surely Wanderers’ chances of leapfrogging Wrexham will have gone, leading to plenty of Welsh interest in a game that the hosts need to win to continue their play-off push.

Great to see you today, @VancityReynolds ⚔️

🔴⚪️ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/cuQli54eZR

— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) April 5, 2025

Parkinson is not expecting any favours from Huddersfield or anyone else. “We will see what happens (on Tuesday) but I always have the mindset that you should expect your rivals to win and anything else is a bonus,” he told reporters after the win over Burton.

The Wrexham manager has no intention of following events from West Yorkshire. Instead, he will spend Tuesday evening scouting next weekend’s opponents, Wigan Athletic, at Exeter City.

“Our homework has to be absolutely spot on,” Parkinson says. “We cannot be distracted.”

Such dedication — the round trip to Devon will be 440 miles — is commendable. It’s an indication that no one at Wrexham is taking the club’s position for granted, even considering how promising the table looks with five games remaining.

Parkinson has not counted out Charlton Athletic or Stockport County, whose supporters will also follow Wycombe’s trip to Huddersfield with interest. Both continue to nip at the heels of the leading pack, with Charlton’s hopes of gatecrashing the top two largely resting on their two final away assignments at Wycombe and then Wrexham.

Win both of those games, especially if their preceding fixtures against Cambridge United and Northampton Town also yield back-to-back wins, and maybe Nathan Jones’ side will head into the final weekend with hope.

Really, though, if Wycombe prevail at Huddersfield on Tuesday, it will increasingly feel like a two-way scrap for that second automatic promotion slot below runaway leaders Birmingham City.

The run-in offers a few pointers but no more, not least because results can be so unpredictable at this time of year as previously dormant clubs suddenly spring to life.

Last Tuesday brought timely proof of this as bottom club Shrewsbury Town ground out a goalless draw at Wycombe, just as Wrexham were dropping two points at second-bottom Cambridge.

3pm kick-off unless specified

Wycombe’s schedule looks tougher on paper, with trips to play-off chasing Bolton Wanderers and Leyton Orient as well as Huddersfield, plus home games against Charlton and Stockport.

But, Wrexham, too, have fixtures that, just a few weeks ago, looked decidedly less tricky, including the Easter doubleheader against a Bristol Rovers side desperate for points to stay clear of the relegation zone and in-form Blackpool.

TV scheduling could also come into play, particularly on the penultimate weekend when Sky Sports has chosen Wycombe’s trip to Orient for the lunchtime slot and Wrexham versus Charlton at 5.30pm.

If Wycombe win, does that pile undue pressure on Wrexham? Or, as happened two years ago on the late April Saturday evening when the National League title was clinched with a 3-1 win over Boreham Wood, will knowing exactly what needs to be done inspire Parkinson’s side?

Only time will tell. Likewise, the supercomputer employed by data boffins Opta to predict how the League One promotion race will pan out using a host of variables, including the quality of performances, upcoming fixtures, historical results and even Opta’s own ‘power rankings’ — a global ranking system containing more than 13,000 clubs rated between zero (lowest) and 100 (highest).

Until mid-March, the computer, which runs 10,0000 simulations of how things will go, had Wycombe consistently down to finish four or five points clear of Wrexham. This only flipped after Parkinson’s men won 1-0 at Adams Park on March 15.

After Saturday’s games, these multiple simulations gave the Welsh club an average of 88.75 points and Wycombe 84.49 points (compared to 87.85 and 85.87 points before kick-off).

Even though it is a slightly wider margin than before Wycombe’s 1-0 loss to Reading, it is again too close to call, with just one unexpected defeat capable of turning things on their head.

Wrexham fans of a certain vintage appreciate this better than most after their team blew a similarly promising position to today in the 1976-77 season.

Back then, the Welsh club went into the final five games looking odds-on to clinch promotion to the second tier. These were the days before the play-offs and wins were worth two points rather than three, and the top three went straight up.

Going into the final weekend of April, second-placed Wrexham were five points clear of Crystal Palace in fourth and had a game in hand. They were also in great form, having won five of their last six games and drawn the other.

Despite that, Wrexham failed to win any of those final five games, losing twice to Palace in May along with champions Mansfield Town. Had just one of those three promotion showdowns been won, they would have gone up in third place rather than Terry Venables’ Palace.

It was an almighty collapse and one that left supporters emotionally scarred for years, even allowing for how their team went up as champions just 12 months later.

For 70 nervous minutes on Saturday, Wrexham were stumbling around in a similar fashion to almost 50 years ago. But once Sam Smith had enticed a rash challenge from goalkeeper Max Crocombe to earn Parkinson’s side a penalty, they never looked back.

Steven Fletcher converted from the spot before a goal apiece from Smith and Jack Marriott left co-owner Reynolds, making only his third visit to the SToK Cae Ras this season and his first since being joined by fellow A-lister Channing Tatum just before Christmas, elated at the final whistle.

Sam Smith’s on 🔥

🔴⚪ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/FZysQzSyrM

— Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) April 5, 2025

“It’s always great to see how much Ryan is behind the lads,” says Parkinson. “I’m also pleased he’s seen a good victory, but now the focus has to be on this week’s training.”

(Top photo: Reynolds was in attendance for Wrexham’s latest win. Jan Kruger/Getty Images)