West Ham United and Wrexham meet at the London Stadium on Friday evening (20:00) in a Championship fixture with genuine table implications, 45 years after the two clubs last faced each other in a league setting. A win for the Hammers would lift them to the top of the second tier, at least temporarily. Here is what the numbers say ahead of kick-off.

A rivalry frozen in time

The last league meeting between these two clubs came in the 1980-81 season, also in the second tier. West Ham drew 2-2 at Wrexham and then won 1-0 at home. This is only the fourth league season in which the clubs have faced each other at all, making Friday's game a genuine rarity for supporters on both sides.

Their most recent competitive meeting of any kind was far more dramatic. In the FA Cup third round in January 1997, Wrexham held their opponents to a 1-1 draw before winning the replay 1-0, sending the Red Dragons through at their top-flight opponents' expense. That memory lingers even now, but Friday belongs to the Championship, not the cup.

West Ham's momentum

The Hammers arrive at this fixture having won each of their past three league games. Should they make it four consecutive victories, it would represent their best run of league form since November 2021. That kind of sustained consistency has pushed them into contention near the top of the table, and a third straight win on Friday would cement their position as one of the division's most credible early-season forces.

Much of the attacking impetus runs through Jarrod Bowen. The winger has created more chances than any other player in the Championship this season, with 18 to his name already. His expected assists figure of 2.4 also leads the division. Bowen is not simply occupying the right areas; he is manufacturing genuine openings at a rate that sets him apart from every other wide player in the second tier.

Wrexham's draw problem

Wrexham head to east London carrying a different kind of statistical curiosity. They have drawn four of their opening six league games this season, which matches a total they have reached only three times before in their entire Football League history: in 1929-30, 1966-67, and 1978-79. All three of those seasons also produced exactly four draws from the first six fixtures.

Draws keep points on the board but they do not build winning momentum, and Wrexham will know that collecting another one at the London Stadium would leave them in a difficult position relative to the clubs picking up three points around them. Manager Phil Parkinson's side must find a way to turn their competitive showings into victories if they are to challenge in the upper half of the table.

What this fixture means for the table

The timing of this fixture matters. A Friday night kick-off under the lights, broadcast live, with top-of-the-table implications on one side and a struggling draw record on the other: the Championship is rarely short of intrigue in its early weeks, and this meeting provides it in full.

West Ham's ability to control possession and exploit wide areas through Bowen will likely prove the defining technical question. Wrexham, for their part, need a performance that finally converts into a result their season has so far lacked. Forty-five years is a long gap between league meetings; both clubs will want to make it count.

Frequently asked

When do West Ham play Wrexham in the Championship?
West Ham United host Wrexham on Friday at 20:00 BST in a Championship league fixture at the London Stadium.
When did West Ham and Wrexham last play each other?
Their last competitive meeting was in the FA Cup third round in January 1997, when Wrexham won the replay 1-0. Their last league game was in the 1980-81 season, also in the second tier.
How many chances has Jarrod Bowen created in the Championship this season?
Bowen has created 18 chances in the Championship so far this season, more than any other player in the division, and leads the way for expected assists with a figure of 2.4.