Troy Deeney drops bold Southampton FC v Wrexham AFC prediction - "They're going to struggle" | OneFootball

The former player-turned pundit has made has revealed how he thinks Saturday's opening day clash between Southampton and Wrexham will go down.

Former player-turned pundit Troy Deeney has revealed how he thinks Saturday's mouthwatering opening day Championship clash between Southampton and Wrexham will play out.

Opening weekend of a new football season - you just can't beat it, can you?

The footballing deities have blessed us EFL fans with a superb set of opening weekend fixtures, one of which being newly relegated Southampton welcoming newly promoted Wrexham to St Mary's.

Saints, naturally, are one of the promotion favourites heading into the new campaign, but the Red Dragons will be looking to announce their second tier arrival with a bang as well.

Troy Deeney predicts Southampton v Wrexham result

One of three early 12:30pm kick-offs on Saturday, Southampton v Wrexham has all the makings of a classic encounter to begin the new Championship season.

But how does Deeney see the game panning out?

Speaking via his TikTok account ahead of the game, the 37-year-old said: "Southampton v Wrexham; again, loads of pressure on Southampton.

"Young squad, great football pitch, got a good manager in there (Will Still) as well that we've seen in France and we've seen him on Monday Night Football; can he deliver in the Championship?

"This is going to be the question. We're not sure. But Wrexham know what they're going to bring: tried and tested, they're going to be fit, they're going to be organised, there's going to be a lot of crosses into the box.

"I fancy Wrexham just to knick this, you know. Wrexham 2-1 Southampton.

"I think Southampton will be good over the course of the season, but to start the season, I think they're going to struggle."

Both Southampton and Wrexham will be feeling confident coming into opening weekend clash

Given they're at home and the fact that they have a strong squad of players at Championship level following their relegation from the Premier League, Southampton will understandably enter the game as favourites.

Players like Ronnie Edwards, Ryan Manning, Flynn Downes, Will Smallbone, Adam Armstrong, Ben Brereton Diaz and Cameron Archer have all proven themselves to be top-quality players at second tier level.

The last time Saints were at this level in 2023/24, they were able to make St Mary's a very tough place for opposition sides to come and get a result, winning 48 of their total 87 points that year on home soil - they finished fourth and were promoted via the play-offs.

However, one thing we've learnt about Wrexham in recent years is that they don't much care what the odds say or what people tell them they can or can't achieve, and with three consecutive promotions to their name, they won't be short of confidence as they prepare to take on the Championship, that's for sure.

They too have been able to add numerous second tier-proven commodities to Phil Parkinson's squad this summer, with the likes of Lewis O'Brien, Conor Coady, Kieffer Moore, Josh Windass and Ryan Hardie all joining the Racecourse revolution.