Exclusive: Joe Jacobson drops big Wycombe Wanderers prediction involving Wrexham AFC | OneFootball

Wycombe Wanderers icon Joe Jacobson spoke exclusively with Football League World about his former side's League One promotion bid

Joe Jacobson believes that former side Wycombe Wanderers have what it takes to pip Wrexham to promotion to the Championship behind league leaders Birmingham City.

Wycombe have sustained themselves as the third-tier's most significant surprise package over the course of the season, with their promotion bid remaining intact despite the mid-season departure of manager Matt Bloomfield to Luton Town.

Big-spending Birmingham are on course to lift the League One title and boast a whopping 14-point advantage over Wycombe on Saturday. The Chairboys, meanwhile, are tied on points with Wrexham in third place but have a game in hand, and will meet Phil Parkinson's side in a huge showdown at Adams Park on Saturday afternoon.

That match-up could promise to have a huge say in who gains promotion to the Championship alongside Blues, though the likes of Charlton Athletic and even Stockport County cannot be completely discounted from the automatic reckoning just yet.

Joe Jacobson's big Wycombe Wanderers, Wrexham AFC promotion prediction

Wycombe's end-of-season run-in is daunting, but Jacobson has backed them to finish the campaign with an automatic return to the Championship.

Ex-captain Jacobson hung up his boots at the end of the previous season after spending a decade with Wycombe and making 400 appearances for the club.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World about the third-tier promotion race, Jacobson said: "I believe that Wycombe have the squad to definitely be second behind Birmingham.

"I think Birmingham are going to run away with it in the end and will probably get the record points tally for the division.

"But I just think Wycombe's squad is stronger than Wrexham's. The only thing Wrexham have got in their favour is that Wycombe have got a tougher run-in, their last four games are against Bolton, Leyton Orient, Charlton and Stockport, all teams in and around the play-off picture at the moment.

"Whether or not that changes later on in the season and Charlton, the way they're going, they could be right in the mix for the automatic promotion places.

"I think Wycombe have got seven or eight of the top 10 teams still left to play, which is a really tough run-in. That could have an effect on them, but this weekend, the match between the two teams is really, really important and I feel if Wycombe can win that and their game in hand, it's a six-point gap with eight or nine games to go.

"It would be a big ask for Wrexham to claw that back, so my heart and my head both says Wycombe at this moment."

Wycombe Wanderers must capitalise on advantage over Wrexham AFC

As Jacobson alludes to, Wycombe have a potentially-defining advantage over Wrexham in the form of a game in hand, which will be contested away to Rotherham United next Tuesday.

Rotherham are 14th in the table and Wycombe have League One's strongest away record, having lost just three times on the road all season. That means they'll head into the affair as clear favourites, with momentum sure to be boosted if they take a point, or all three, from Wrexham this weekend.

The next week is going to be huge as far as Wycombe's automatic promotion ambitions are concerned. Victory over Wrexham would naturally be invaluable, and following that up with another win at Rotherham would also give Wycombe a sizable advantage in their bid to return to the second-tier.