How Wycombe, Wrexham, Charlton & Stockport's final 8 League One fixtures compare | OneFootball

A dive into each of the four automatic promotion contenders in League One's run-ins.

Summary

An exciting battle for promotion is on the cards in League One, with four teams looking like they could join Birmingham City in the top two come May.

Wycombe Wanderers, Wrexham, Charlton Athletic, and Stockport County are all in contention to join Birmingham in occupying the automatic promotion places when all is said and done.

The Chairboys have been in the driving seat for the majority of the season, but Wrexham have come on strong recently, securing two big victories over Wycombe and Stockport, respectively. This has seen the promotion race completely change from how it looked a couple of weeks ago.

Both the Hatters and Charlton remain as outside contenders for promotion, with the focus primarily on the current top two of Wrexham and Wycombe. However, neither of the former two will be counting themselves out just yet with eight games remaining in the 2024/25 season.

With that in mind, we’ve delved into each of the four promotion contenders’ last eight fixtures, evaluating who has the most favourable run-in and who could be sweating a little bit by looking at their upcoming fixtures.

Wycombe Wanderers' last nine fixtures

Wycombe have been in the driving seat in the race for promotion for the vast majority of the season, but a change of management and a busy January window has led to a lot of adaptation at Adams Park. This has seen them slip to third, but they can retake second if they win their game in hand on Wrexham.

On paper, the Chairboys have arguably the toughest run-in of the four teams gunning for that final automatic promotion place. Mike Dodds’ men still have to play five of the top eight in their last nine, including automatic promotion rivals Charlton and Stockport. This certainly makes life very tough heading into the business end of the season.

A defeat against their closest competitors two weeks ago was a huge blow to Wycombe’s chances of promotion, but they were able to respond with a 3-2 victory over Rotherham the following Tuesday. Despite this, performances have left a lot to be desired, as the Chairboys have looked too one-dimensional at times in recent weeks.

Importantly, Wycombe’s fate is still in their own hands, heading into their final nine matches. But, with arguably the hardest run-in of the four promotion competitors and below-par performances, it’s going to be a tough task for the Wanderers to take the fight to their Welsh rivals.

Wrexham AFC's last eight fixtures

After securing victory over the Chairboys, it seems Wrexham have now taken over the driving seat in the promotion race. Whilst they can be overtaken by Wycombe if they win their game in hand, they’ll still be level on points with the Buckinghamshire outfit, only trailing on goal difference.

On paper, the Red Dragons seem to have the most favourable run-in compared to the rest of their promotion rivals. Only three of their final eight opponents currently reside in the top half of the League One table, which certainly makes for pleasant reading for Wrexham supporters.

Regardless of league position, Phil Parkinson’s men have still got some tough places to visit. They start off at St James Park, where Exeter City have hit some form as of late, proving to be a hard team to break down. Wycombe will be hopeful that on-loan defender Alex Hartridge can provide another shut-out.

Despite having the most favourable run-in of the promotion candidates, anyone can beat anyone in League One, and the experienced head of Parkinson will know this all too well. Wrexham mustn’t get complacent in games they’re expected to win and make sure they get the job done.

Charlton Athletic's last eight fixtures

Charlton looked like a real threat to both Wycombe and Wrexham, having put together a strong run of form at just the right time to put pressure on their rivals. However, a 3-0 hammering at the hands of Peterborough United last weekend would’ve hit Nathan Jones’ side like a brick wall.

The Addicks don’t have the easiest run-in by any stretch of the imagination, as they face a wide range of teams at the top and the bottom of League One, making for a difficult end to the campaign. Six of Charlton’s last eight are against teams that still have promotion or survival to play for.

Of course, the ones that will draw the most attention are two of their final three. Jones’ side still has to travel to Adams Park and the Racecourse Ground, respectively, which have been absolute fortresses this season. With that in mind, Charlton will be hoping to secure a few wins before they travel to the homes of their promotion contenders.

Saturday’s setback against Peterborough opened the door for Wrexham to widen the gap between themselves and Charlton even further, which has put the Addicks’ threat on ice for now. The London-based side sit eight points off second, so they will need a strong set of results in the run-in to reel in that gap.

Stockport County's last eight fixtures

Wrexham once again dealt a blow to another promotion rival last Saturday by defeating Stockport 1-0, thanks to a highly controversial penalty that was given against Ibou Touray. This saw the Red Dragons widen the gap between them and fifth-placed County to nine points.

The Hatters look the least likely of the four teams on this list to secure second place, but as proven already by Wrexham, a few positive results can change the entire complexion of the promotion race. Stockport will hope they can take advantage of the fact that five of their last eight are at Edgeley Park.

They face a tough trip to Adams Park on the final day of the season to face Wycombe and will be keen to get revenge on the Chairboys for the 5-0 hammering the Buckinghamshire side dished out on Dave Challinor’s men earlier in the season. If things go down to the wire, this could prove to be a blockbuster fixture.

Stockport have the slimmest chance of going up out of all four promotion contenders, so the pressure will be off in comparison to their rivals, which could suit them nicely. With a slightly more favourable run-in in comparison to some of those clubs around them, it would be naïve to count them out of the promotion race.