United face a rare international fixture this weekend, with Wrexham making the journey down to the R Costings Abbey Stadium.
The Welsh side currently sit 15th in the table, and come into the match on the back of a 1-0 home defeat to league leaders Oxford United. Two players, and Red Dragons manager Dean Saunders, were sent off during a fiery encounter, leading to Saunders directing a tirade at the match officials.
He told BBC Wales: "Since I've been working at this level, I've been amazed at the standard of the refereeing. I watched what happened today and I thought: 'Is this a different sport with different rules to the one I've been working in for the last 30 years?'
"I'm in enough trouble as it is for getting sent off, but I said to the linesman: 'You are causing a riot'. I actually thought at the time it cost us the game. That's how you are feeling on the side. It's a passionate game football."
It is the second time Saunders has been sent to the stands this season, and the Wrexham faithful will be hoping their manager's passion will be matched with an upturn in results. The club has been on the slide since 2004 when former Chairman Alex Hamilton bought the Racecourse Ground privately weeks into his tenure, then promptly served the club notice to quit.
His purpose was to sell the stadium for development purposes and, although the fans won their battle with Hamilton, they became financially stricken. Relegation from League One followed, with administration not far behind. A mid-table League Two finish was achieved in 2006, whilst they narrowly avoided the drop a year later when concluding five points from safety.
But 2007/08 proved disastrous. The tone was set early with six defeats in the opening eight League games, and they entered December hovering one point from the drop-zone. By this time Manager Brian Carey had stepped aside, allowing Little to take the reins whilst Carey stayed as Assistant boss. But the experienced manager was unable to halt the slide and Wrexham were relegated following a 2-0 defeat to Hereford.
Hopes were high that Little could help the Red Dragons bounce back at the first attempt but, despite the signings of experienced Conference campaigners such as Tom Kearney and Jefferson Louis, a poor start saw him sacked with Saunders, a golfing buddy of chairman Neville Moss, agreeing to take the reins.
Former Liverpool, Villa, and Wales striker Saunders is also assistant coach to John Toshack in the Welsh international set up, but despite some early success, his ever-changing side tailed off in the second half of the season, and ended up finishing 10th, some 15 points off the play-offs. A significant improvement will be required this season from one of the division's biggest names.
The Squad
Last term Wrexham seemed to be making an attempt on the record for most players used in a season, with a succession of loanees and short-term signings coming and going as Saunders sought to arrest his team's slide. Eleven more players have arrived at the Racecourse Ground since the end of last season, with 12 departing for pastures new.
Number one keeper for this season should have been Sam Russell, formerly of Bolton. But he is currently on the sidelines with a dislocated elbow, so youngster Chris Maxwell has been between the sticks in recent weeks.
Saunders has favoured a 3-5-2 formation in recent weeks, and his defensive trio against United are likely to be Welsh international Mike Williams, experienced Ashley Westwood, formerly of Stevenage, and Frenchman Mani Assoumani, a close season signing from Leeds. Williams will come into the side at the expense of veteran Frank Sinclair, who was sent off against Oxford. Patrolling the flanks are likely to be Curtis Obeng, who joined from Manchester City in the summer, and Wales Under-21 man Neil Taylor.
Wrexham possess a dangerous midfield trio of Mark Jones, Marc Williams, and Hedi Taboubi. Taboubi is another of the Dragons' French contingent, and joined after impressing in a pre-season trial. Jones returned to the club in the summer after an injury-hit sojourn at Rochdale. With a record of 24 goals from midfield in 110 starts during his first spell at the club, he can be a threat from midfield, though he has yet to find the net so far this term.
Meanwhile Williams, usually a striker, was sorely missed last season after picking up a metatarsal injury which forced him to miss the last three months of the campaign. He is currently being deployed in an attacking midfield role. Other midfielders in Wrexham's bulging squad include Silvio Spann, Nathan Fairhurst, and former U's loanee Christian "Brickwall" Smith.
Up front, another veteran, 36-year old Welsh international Gareth Taylor, has been partnering Wes Baynes, a centre back who has been converted into a striker. Saunders could also turn to youngster Obi Anoruo, or Matty Wolfendon, a close season signing from Oldham. Lamine Sakho, a vastly experienced Senegal international, could also come into the reckoning after impressing Saunders in training.
This Season
So far this term Wrexham have struggled to perform consistently, although as they already have two games in hand over most teams, their lowly league position of 15th could be said to be a slightly false one.
The campaign started brightly enough, with a 3-0 win over Eastbourne thanks to goals from Taboubi and Gareth Taylor (2). But the following Saturday they were defeated 1-0 by Steve Evans' Crawley outfit, and although the next home game resulted in a 1-0 win over York City, successive 2-1 defeats to Kettering and Tamworth left the Dragons trailing the early pace setters.
Two goals from Wes Baynes helped see off basement dwellers Forest Green Rovers, but Wrexham have failed to score in their last two games - drawing 0-0 with Barrow and losing 1-0 at home in the aforementioned clash with Oxford. With United having not found the net for three matches, the odds would appear to be on a low scoring encounter this weekend.
Last Time
Both teams have undergone massive changes in personal since our last meeting at the Abbey, in September 2008.
Gary Brabin made a few surprising changes for this match, opting for a 4-3-3 formation to accommodate Chris Holroyd. This meant first starts of the season for transfer-listed duo Mark Convery and Danny Brown.
Despite the unfamiliar line up, United put in one of their best performances of the season, and had already spurned several chances by the time Mark Beesley netted from close range in the 28th minute, after Holroyd had flicked on a corner at the near post.
The match was in the bag in the 64th minute, when Beesley scored his second. Again Holroyd was involved, getting on the end of a cross from Lee McEvilly and seeing his shot crack against the bar. Luckily Beesley was on hand to tap in his second and send United joint-top of the table.
Matt Gooding
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