Swansea v Wrexham - the 'derby' which catches the eye

Swansea City versus Wrexham. Wales' most successful side this century against the one with perhaps the grandest ambitions.

The club who thrived for a while in the Premier League against the team who will not be satisfied until they get there.

South-west Wales versus north, Snoop Dogg and Luka Modric against Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac.

Swansea versus Wrexham is a game that would always have caught the eye in Wales.

But these days it is a fixture with much wider appeal, thanks largely to the star names in the clubs' respective boardrooms.

Friday's Championship game in Swansea, the first between these two clubs in the league in 22 years, will be watched far beyond Wales.

Swansea co-owner Snoop Dogg, for example, is due to take in the action alongside fans at an LED dome in Los Angeles.

But this match is not just about celebrity owners.

The cities of Swansea and Wrexham are more than 100 miles apart, but there is a derby feel in the air as Wales' two highest-ranked clubs come together.

For Swansea fans, Cardiff City is the match that matters most, while Wrexham's traditional rivals are Chester City and Shrewsbury Town.

But in 2025-26, this game stands out.

Wrexham appeared to acknowledge as much in June when they announced this season's fixture list with a Star Wars-style video.

While 21 Championship clubs were listed as normal, two were given the prefix 'Darth',, external in a nod to Star Wars villain Darth Vader.

One of those was Birmingham City, Wrexham's rivals in League One last season, and the other was Swansea.

The Swans responded in July, after Hollywood star Reynolds posted a picture of himself wearing Wrexham's new kit while holding a dog on social media.

Reynolds' caption about the shirt included the words "dog not included".

"Dogg included" Swansea declared on social media, external alongside the first images of Snoop wearing their home shirt for this season.

"We're the pride of Wales," Swansea's post added.

It is not only on the clubs' official accounts that there has been interaction.

Supporters of each side have had a fair bit to say about the other on social media ever since Wrexham's promotion from League One meant they would be in the same division for the first time since 2002-03.

Back then, it was Swansea who were really struggling, as they only avoided relegation to non-league on the final day of the season. Wrexham, meanwhile, were promoted that year.

But the clubs' respective fortunes were to change dramatically. Swansea went from the fourth tier in 2005 to the Premier League in 2011 and then spent seven seasons at the highest level, winning the 2013 League Cup along the way.

Wrexham, by contrast, dropped out of the Football League in 2008, spending 15 painful years away before Phil Parkinson delivered the first of three successive promotions in 2022-23.

With Reynolds and Mac leading the way, the Red Dragons have passed Newport County and Cardiff City during a thrilling climb up the divisions.

Now comes a chance to assert themselves as Wales' leading club side, a position Wrexham most recently held - at the end of a season at least - in 2001.

"Swansea had their meteoric rise, they had the 'Swansea way', they got to the Premier League and then they were a good Championship team," former Wrexham striker and manager Andy Morrell says.

"Now they have had a few changes of manager. It seems to be becoming a bit harder for them to maintain what they have done and it feels like Wrexham are catching up with them a little bit."

There are still 25 league games to play this season but, as it stands, Wrexham have overtaken Swansea, who have endured a difficult campaign to date despite the much-heralded boardroom arrivals of rapper Snoop and Real Madrid legend Modric in 2025.

Wrexham are 15th in the table, five points and four places better off than their opponents this weekend.

"Neither side are challenging at the top end of the league, so for the fans, what comes next? It's the Welsh derby," adds Morrell, now a co-commentator on Wrexham's in-house match coverage.

"Wrexham played Cardiff in the League Cup this season and we weren't very good.

"I think there is an emphasis on wanting to prove we are the best team in Wales.

"Wrexham have been that before, but it was 20-plus years ago. It's nice to be back in that picture again, but now we have to prove that's what we are."

If ticket sales are anything to go by, the prospect of a meeting with Wrexham has captured the imagination of Swansea's fans.

The sold-out signs have been up at the Swansea.com Stadium ticket office for a while, which does not happen often these days.

Only Manchester City, who visited in the EFL Cup in October, have proved such a draw this season.

Swansea supporters came out that night hoping to witness a giant-killing. This time their wish will be to avoid being humbled by opponents who were three divisions below them as recently as 2023.

"It's a game that the two sets of fans haven't seen for many years," says former Swansea midfielder Andy Robinson.

"I think there's a bit of spice going into it as well, in terms of Wrexham believing their own hype a little bit.

"I think that adds to the mix between the fans and I'm sure there will be banter before the game."

Sporting derbies usually involve local rivals, hence some may question whether the term can be used to describe Swansea meeting Wrexham.

But given that there are only four clubs from Wales in the EFL, a meeting of any two tends to be billed as a Welsh derby.

Swansea and Wrexham have met on only 30 occasions in the league.

Swansea have not won in the past nine EFL encounters stretching back to 1993, though they did beat Wrexham in the 2005 and 2006 FAW Premier Cup finals.

Robinson, who scored the final goal at Vetch Field in the 2005 game, reckons that despite the distance between the clubs, the fixture is "most certainly a derby".

Swansea academy product Liam Cullen, who is poised to face Wrexham for the first time, is not so sure.

"It's obviously not the derby that the south Wales derby is," the Wales international says.

"I think it gets a lot of hype in terms of who our owners are, who Wrexham's owners are. They've obviously had an unbelievable few years and I know quite a few lads that are there from Wales, so you could say it's a Welsh derby.

"But for us, like every other game, we just need to be fully prepared to hopefully go and get three points."

Swansea boss Vitor Matos, who is still getting to know his new surroundings, reckons a meeting with Wrexham brings "a different emotional charge".

Wrexham counterpart Parkinson, meanwhile, says that when this season's fixtures were revealed, Swansea was one of those "everyone looked to" at the Stok Cae Ras.

Goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo suggests the game is "massive", while midfielder Ollie Rathbone insists this is one of those matches players "want to be involved in".

Wrexham should begin with greater confidence given that they have been beaten only once in 11 league games, while Swansea have lost six of their past eight.

Then again, the old line about form going out of the window on derby day may be mentioned by some – assuming, of course, that they think this is a derby.