A Welsh derby in the EFL Cup is a tantalising prospect. There hasn’t been a Wrexham Cardiff league derby in Wrexham’s rise back through the leagues as the two clubs passed each other via promotion and relegation in the summer, so the fact that this fixture has come out through the draw smacks of the football gods wanting to entertain. Hopefully the match itself can live up to that.

These Wrexham v Cardiff Betting Stats also offer further insight ahead of Tuesday's clash.

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📈 Wrexham v Cardiff Form & Tactics

Wrexham have definitely found their feet in the Championship, and look on course to consolidate their position in the second tier, which had to be the realistic aim for this season. They are on 14 points after 12 matches and sit in midtable, five points off the relegation zone and five points off the top six.

Recent form has seen a lot of draws, four out of their last six matches have ended 1-1, with a 1-0 win and a 1-0 defeat rounding out the results, but Wrexham have been competitive in all of those matches. Phil Parkinson has clearly tightened things up since the early part of the season, but they have also suffered a creative drop-off of their own.

From beginning the season by creating over 1xG per game in all but one of their opening nine matches, they have only managed over 1xG in one of their last five matches. Defensively, they are making strides, they were the highest for xG against for most of the season, but are now only 21st for that metric.

Cardiff are suffering something of a wobble in their pursuit of promotion back into League One. They have lost three of their last five matches in all competitions. Usually, I wouldn’t be bothered about including the EFL Trophy in that recap, but the fact that they lost to a fellow Welsh club in Newport seems significant for this match too.

More concerning would be the most recent 0-1 defeat at Bolton, a game in which Cardiff really needed to step up, they created very little with no shots on target, and deservedly lost the game.

Generally, Cardiff have been one of the stronger League One teams though. They are third for xG generated, fifth for shots on target, second for big chances created, and fourth for touches in the opposition box. However, they have not been tight enough defensively and are in the bottom half of League One for xG conceded.

📔 Wrexham v Cardiff Formation & Team News

Wrexham tend to play with a three at the back system, usually a 3-5-2 with variants, depending on how the midfield is set up with roles and personnel. I suspect that for this match Parkinson will want to use twin #8s to support a front two, with one of the two playing a more withdrawn role.

Judging from the last cup tie, and taking into context the “Welsh Derby” of it all, and then also the last league starting lineup, I would suggest that Sam Smith could lead the line here, with Nathan Broadhead just off him, but there won’t be a full rotation. I expect the defence to remain similar with Dom Hyam, who has been excellent since his arrival, retaining his place in the centre of the three.

Cardiff have been using a 4-2-3-1 system in the league, and I would expect this to remain the same here, though Brian Barry-Murphy could be tempted to match up Wrexham in a three at the back. If the 4-2-3-1 remains, then the key will be getting the midfield mix correct, which will likely not involve Alex Robertson, given he only just returned in the last match.

Getting supply to Yousef Salech will be key as well, whilst Ruben Colwill will again try to use this as a window for his talent to shine. Barry-Murphy doesn’t look likely to perform a full rotation either. Colwill played in the last round v Burnley, and a first choice back four played in that win as well.

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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.