In 1978, Wrexham faced Preston North End on Boxing Day and that night was the beginning of the Racecourse career for 2 Red Dragons legends.
The Swansea weekend is behind us, and with that away days are over for Wrexham fans in 2025. The next time the Red Dragons step into an unusual territory will happen in New Year 2026.
Lowkey, it’s a feel good fact for the Wrexham fanbase because we all know a victory drought is easier to break at home than in away surroundings.
Ready for the better part? We have two straight Racecourse evenings on the bounce.
First a Boxing Day face off with Sheffield United and then the final competitive night of the year against Preston North End. With the merry festive jingles all around, those games will definitely be an exciting watch.
When was the last time Wrexham played Preston North End?
Among them, the Preston meeting generates a wave of good nostalgia as a Wrexham fan. First of all, they were the inaugural champions of England so the thought of defeating them naturally feels like an achievement.
Wrexham have tasted this feeling in this 2025/26 season with a thrilling 3-2 win in the Carabao Cup. To be honest, that Preston atmosphere felt so nice, Wrexham nearly did it twice in the Lilywhites’ backyard.
Preston midfielder Harrison Armstrong came in the way of the three points rest, it was all good. A second reason to smile at this fixture is linked to Wrexham’s past, with an old Preston night during the festive eve witnessing two legends’ debuts in the Red Dragons colours.
Throwback to Wrexham’s Boxing Day clash with Preston North End?
Referring to the Wrexham vs Preston North End Boxing Day fixture during the 1978/79 season, @WrexhamLowdown pointed out on X(formerly Twitter), saying: “47 years ago today, Wrexham made the double signing of Steve Fox and David Giles.
Steve joined from Birmingham City for £90,000 and David signed from Cardiff City for £30,000. Both very good players and they would make their debuts on Boxing Day away at Preston.”
For the relatively senior Wrexham fans, they were privileged to watch Steve Fox assume attacking duties and David Giles produce defence breaking passes from the midfield for a fair few seasons. The duo didn’t play in a Wrexham shirt for longer but they shared the locker room with club icons like Joey Jones and Dixie McNeil.
That in itself speaks of Wrexham’s memorable days in the 70s when the club were a constant presence in the English third division and even reached the second division.
Since then, this 2020s era can arguably be talked as being better than those 70s years from a Wrexham point of view. Nowadays, the club comfortably sits in the Championship and a relegation to third division won’t loom over the building barring an extreme mis management from the Wrexham board.
Every club aims to aspire for higher and better things, that step up for Wrexham is the Premier League. For the first half of the chase, the Red Dragons are stuck at 15th with a couple of games to resume the promotion task in 2026.
A date with an in-form Sheffield United squad has come at the wrong time for Phil Parkinson’s men but hosting Preston can turn into a field day for Wrexham. We have already enjoyed an upper hand over the Lilywhites in recent months, and even Tall Kieffer Moore loves to play Preston.
According to Transfermarkt stats, Moore has bagged 5 strikes in front of Preston and never say never to him adding another one or a couple on the 29th December.
Wrexham vs Preston North End, bring it on.
