Southampton vs Wrexham live: Conor Coady and Kieffer Moore start in Championship opener | OneFootball

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Phil Parkinson is looking forward to Wrexham's Championship return

Wrexham kick off their season in the Championship by facing Southampton in the early kick off on Saturday. These clubs were separated by two leagues last year with Saints plying their trade in the Premier League and Wrexham securing promotion from League One.

The Welsh club have won promotion in each of the last three seasons in a rare story of success which has taken them from the National League to within touching distance of the Premier League. Playing in the top flight is the dream of their Hollywood owners who have made key signings in the transfer window with the experienced Conor Coady and Kieffer Moore joining the squad.

Saints will hope to give them a reality check after a bruising season in the top flight last year. They secured just 12 points in the entire campaign but have a new boss, in Will Still, whose target is to steer them back to the Premier League on the first time of asking.

Back in the second tier

Wrexham will play their first second-tier game in 43 years and 86 days when they face Southampton in their opening Championship fixture of the 2025/26 season.

It is the longest gap between matches in England’s second-tier since Doncaster Rovers returned in 2008 (50 years, 105 days).

Mike Jones9 August 2025 12:15

Forget Ryan Reynolds – meet the man plotting Wrexham’s stunning rise to the Premier League

Anticipation is building to a fever pitch ahead of the 2025-26 Championship season, and Wrexham are preparing to play their first match in the compelling and cruel second tier of English football since the 1981-82 campaign.

Wrexham have undergone a seismic metamorphosis since being purchased by actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds through Wrexham Holdings LLC in November 2020, becoming the first club in the history of England’s top five football divisions to achieve back-to-back-to-back promotions. And while there have been several protagonists in that journey, one of the most important instigators in their growth is Les Reed.

Meet the forgotten man plotting Wrexham’s stunning rise to the Premier League

Les Reed has acted as a football strategy adviser to Wrexham throughout their meteoric rise under the ownership of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, and tells Zach Lowy about the club’s ambition

Mike Jones9 August 2025 12:05

More from Still:

“We’re expecting a lot of intensity, a lot of 50-50s, challenges and quite a high-intensity game, because that’s the way they play and that’s the way we want to play.

“They’ve obviously got this momentum going through the team and through the club, so we expect the very best version of Wrexham.

“We will have to be at our very best as well.”

Mike Jones9 August 2025 12:00

65 years in the making

The last league encounter between Southampton and Wrexham was in April 1960 in the third tier with the Welsh side winning 2-1 after goals from Ron Harbertson and Bernard Evans.

Mike Jones9 August 2025 11:35