Blackburn Rovers boss Valerien Ismael dropped an injury update on Rovers top scorer Andri Gudjohnsen last week that Wrexham fans will love before tomorrow’s away clash.
What a time it’s been to be a Wrexham fan. Closing the year with a comfortable win over Preston, the Dragons eagerly enter the New Year as the most improved Championship side.
And the best part? Looking back at the pre-match scenario, the PNE game didn’t intend to be as simple as it turned out.
In the Preston game, Wrexham started with the same defensive tactics they employed while conceding 3 against Sheffield. Up surface, the plan didn’t change, but the unavailability of the opposition’s focal striker, Osmajic, did make matters much easier.
No discredit to the Dragons’ defence, but lining up speculations after the Bamford show the other day, it could’ve been a close contest with the Preston top-scorer participating.
That’s definitely not forgetting how PNE entered the game being a top-6 side. While in Osmajic’s absence, Heckingbottom’s men did put up a fight still, with players like Alfie Divine constantly targeting shots at Okonkwo, it was never enough to beat Wrexham.
The result? A fairly easy win where you’d wish for a clean sheet, but again, a 2-1 won’t irk anyone except for critics like Troy Deeney.
Well, if Osmajic’s absence ought to be a teaser trailer for Wrexham, the real surprise drops for the Dragons in tomorrow’s game against Blackburn.
Fresh from consecutive “WW”, Parky’s side faces a Blackburn side missing their best striker, Andri Gudjohnsen. While many might’ve missed, opposition boss Valerien Ismael long announced the forward’s absence to Rovers Co UK, saying: “We lost Andri after the Millwall game and he’ll be out for five weeks with a hamstring injury.”
Reading between the lines, Gudjohnsen definitely misses the Wrexham clash on New Year’s.
To measure how much of a relief it is, legend Eidur Gudjohnsen’s son, Andri, stood tied with Kieffer Moore’s 7 goals tally at matchday 22. Ultimately, Big Kieff stretched a lead, but the Rovers’ summer signing could have been an exciting prospect running in the top-scorer charts.
Still, the bottom line remains that Blackburn, too, misses their front man in a game where Moore’s availability is in doubt. And no, it’s far more of a victory for the Welsh club, given they tour a Rovers side, forced to lineup with no forward to spearhead their attack.
With Andri ruled out, Valerien Ismael is bound to move some midfield names into the attack, alongside their only available forward, Yuki Ohashi, who’s still searching for his first goal.
Does this guarantee a Wrexham win against Blackburn?
Long answer, short, it’s a No. While a toothless Blackburn poses far less of a threat to Wrexham’s defence, it doesn’t ease their task to find spaces among Ismael’s compact defence and net goals.
For context, even with Andri Gudjohnsen present and kicking, Rovers have been among the lowest goal output sides this season. Having found the net only 22 times, they are only followed by Portsmouth & Sheffield Wednesday in the goals tally.
However, it shouldn’t undermine their defensive solidarity as one of the stingiest backlines recently. As per Fotmob’s tally, the Riversiders have conceded the joint-lowest goals, only 5, alongside Hull in their last 5 games.
Putting it in perspective, they next compete against Wrexham, who’ve been averaging 2 goals a game in their last 5 contests. What it does best is translate the narrative of the Wrexham Vs Blackburn game to an attackingly strong side against a defensively sound group.
Obviously, the best outcome for Dragon fans could be a massive win again. Fingers crossed for a hat-trick of W’s falling in our form sheet this time.
