WREXHAM must do things the hard way in their pursuit of a play-off spot in the Championship, with their run-in calculated as being the third-most difficult in the division.
Data experts at OLBG have researched the remaining fixtures of every team in the second tier to definitively determine who has the most difficult and easiest run-in.
The research includes every remaining league match for each side and the run-in difficulty rating is calculated by using a standardised version of the Elo strength rating system, which sees teams exchange points when they play one another.
From there, an average difficulty score for a team is calculated based on the strength rating of every remaining opponent.
The bad news for Phil Parkinson's side is that only two teams have a more difficult end to the season than they do, and neither of them are in the hunt for the Championship play-offs.
Wrexham have a run-in difficulty rating of 64, while Southampton - their closest competition for sixth place - have a run-in rated as the 14th-most difficult.
Elsewhere, fifth-placed Hull City are the most fortunate of the play-off chasers, with the fifth-easiest set of fixtures to navigate in order to secure a spot inside the top six.
Mid-table Swansea City have the hardest run-in, followed by 10th placed Norwich City, while Stoke City and Leicester City have the easiest run-ins.
The Reds are currently seventh in the table, level on points with Southampton who occupy the final play-off place.
Wrexham are three points ahead of eighth placed Derby County, with a gap then emerging, but Parkinson has stated that he is not just content with trying to finish in sixth position.
Hull in fifth are three points ahead of the Reds while Ipswich and Millwall, who sit third and fourth respectively, both have a six point advantage over The Racecourse outfit.
Wrexham have seven games remaining after the international break, starting with the trip to lowly West Brom on Friday April 3.
Read more
That is followed by the huge showdown with Southampton at The Racecourse on Tuesday April 7, with the Reds back on the road at 11th placed Birmingham on Sunday April 12.
Parkinson's men are home to Stoke, who are 15th, on Saturday April 18 before making the trip to second bottom Oxford United on Tuesday April 21.
The final away game is a tough one at leaders Coventry City on Saturday April 25 and it doesn't get any easier for Wrexham on the final day of the regular season when second placed Middlesbrough are the visitors for the last home match on Saturday May 2.
Share