Southampton vs Wrexham prediction: Saints off the mark in Championship with a win | OneFootball

Southampton face Wrexham in the opening weekend of the Championship on Saturday, with the Saints hoping to lay down an early marker against the newly promoted Welsh side.

Southampton appointed promising young manager Will Still following their relegation from the Premier League, with fans hoping that the 32-year-old can lead them back into the top flight at the first time of asking.

And the Saints are among the favourites to win the league title in the Championship winners odds – at the same time as being tipped for promotion in some form – with the financial benefits of spending 12 of the last 13 years in the top flight likely showing across the next nine months.

Wrexham have landed themselves in a similar situation as the Saints financially, though it was through Hollywood investment rather than Premier League status, and the Welsh club are hoping to spring a surprise and finish in the play-off places as they continue their ascent up the EFL pyramid.

And the Red Dragons face a tough opening fixture at St Mary’s as they feature in the Championship for the first time, with football betting sites pricing the Saints as the clear favourites against Phil Parkinson’s side.

Southampton feature in the second tier for just the second time since 2012 this season, with the south coast club having become Premier League regulars over the last decade or so.

However, 2024/25 was nearly a record-breaking season for the Saints in all the wrong ways, with Ivan Juric’s side earning just 12 points across the season and falling to 30 defeats.

This prompted the appointment of Still as the club looks to go in a different direction, and though the squad struggled in the top flight, it should be well-equipped to challenge for promotion.

Conversely, though Wrexham have now secured back-to-back promotions, it feels like this could be where the fairytale stalls for now. Evidence of this perhaps came last season, when they were 19 points behind Birmingham despite winning promotion.

The Welsh club have twice broken their transfer record already this season and experienced signings such as Conor Coady and Kieffer Moore show that the ownership is ambitious, but clubs need far more than a new influx of money to earn promotion and it feels like Wrexham may need a few seasons in the second tier before they can regularly challenge for a place in the Premier League.

And we could see the first signs of that eventuality this Saturday, with the Saints the clear favourites to win this opening weekend fixture.

Despite losing several fixtures at the end of last season, Southampton’s preseason results have been positive and their squad will require less gelling than Wrexham’s, with the Welsh side having already made five likely first-team additions.

So we’re backing the hosts in the opener, with betting sites offering odds around 7/4 for a Southampton win to nil.

As mentioned above, Southampton are among the favourites to win promotion thanks to a squad that has a solid blend of youth, talent and Premier League experience.

Saints striker Cameron Archer is the perfect example of this, with the 23-year-old having led the line for the club last season.

And though the club’s struggles were mirrored in his return of just two goals across 35 appearances, 2025/26 could be a breakout season for a striker who was thrown in the deep end last term.

The situation at St Mary’s should be a far kinder, more settled one for Archer this season, with the England youth player tipped to be the league’s top goalscorer with odds as low as 6/1 with some betting apps.

In fact, we’ve picked Archer as our bet for Championship top goalscorer come the end of the season, and we expect him to open his account this weekend at St Mary’s.

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