Wrexham heading straight back into the spotlight

[Getty Images] The 2026-27 season will be just their sixth as a second-tier club, yet Wrexham will begin in familiar territory. The Red Dragons, after all, will be in the spotlight. Wrexham have become used to having cameras rolling all around since Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac – formerly McElhenney – completed their takeover of the club in 2021. So it is no surprise that their first game of the new Championship campaign, at Cardiff City, has been switched to Monday, 17 August as a result of television coverage. This will be the first of many Wrexham games, no doubt, selected for one of the Championship's prime TV slots. The fact that Wrexham are taking on Welsh opponents makes the fixture all the more appealing of course, but Phil Parkinson's men are a story in their own right these days. Wrexham's run of three successive promotions came to an end last season as they missed out on the play-offs on the final day of the campaign. [Getty Images] Such is the financial clout of the club these days that the expectation for many will be that Wrexham will do better in 2026-27, particularly with the play-off spots stretching down to eighth place for the first time. Parkinson's team should get a decent idea of what they are up against in the opening weeks of the new season. The trip to take on a Cardiff side buoyed by promotion from League One represents a tricky start, while Wrexham must also go to Millwall – who finished third last season – and the Championship's other Welsh team, Swansea City, in their first five league outings. Wrexham will also meet two of the clubs relegated from the Premier League last season – Burnley, at home, and West Ham, away – as well as a Southampton side who romped to victory at the Stok Cae Ras in April before the season's first international break. Certainly, it looks a challenging opening for Wrexham – and there will be cameras watching on to see how they cope.