Before the arrival of the two Hollywood stars and NFL legends, the only notable history shared between Wrexham and Birmingham was the £1m the Blues paid for Bryan Hughes in 1997, which remains the record transfer fee for the Welsh side.
Wrexham, owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, are now locked in a promotion battle with leaders Birmingham, who are fueled by funds from American businessman Tom Wagner and seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady.
Jay Stansfield's brace helped Birmingham to victory over Wrexham at St Andrew's in September, but with five points separating the two sides, there is even greater significance on the return leg.
Celebrities are expected to be back in the stands at the racecourse on Thursday night, live on Sky Sportsand there will be well-paid stars on the field for the most expensive first league match in history.
Thursday, January 23 at 7:00 p.m
Start at 20:00
Wrexham recruitment for promotion planning
Wrexham won back-to-back promotions from the National League with expensive but smart recruitment. Since 2021, when Reynolds and McElhenney took over, their team value has increased nearly sixfold according to Transfer market.
Their success came from signing players from the higher divisions, building on the 2021-22 season, when they were still a non-league club, by adding 10 players from the EFL. The following summer, after missing out on promotion in the National League play-offs, they signed seven more.
“We've brought in players who are used to expecting to win,” said Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson Sky Sports. “At Wrexham there are expectations and you have to be able to handle that.
“This is a different club.”
Paul Mullin's impact as one of those signings is well documented, but striker Ollie Palmer, who reportedly joined for £300,000, and Elliot Lee, who dropped three divisions from Championship side Luton, continue to play a key role in their rise.
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Paul Mullin talks to Sky Sports about the changes in his life after starring at Wrexham over the past few years
Palmer has scored just 11 league goals in his last 64 appearances, but there's a reason why Parkinson continues to play him. The 33-year-old is a battering ram who wears down opposing defenses, connects play and is a superb team player. Only twice this season did he last 90 minutes.
Lee, a diminutive midfielder who started his career at West Ham, has a knack for scoring important goals, scoring 15 in his first season and then 16 last term. He has six this season, five of which are wins.
Then there are ex-Derby striker Jack Marriott and ex-Premier League duo Steven Fletcher and James McClean who were signed before Wrexham took the ball back to League Two.
Wrexham invested again last summer paying fees for five players, who have collected five EFL promotions between them, totaling £2m, including a reported club record £500,000 for West Brom's Mo Faal, who won only seven league appearances this season.
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Mullin smashed the 'top buckets' on the volley with a sensational equalizer for Wrexham against Blackpool last month
Success doesn't come cheap…
Wrexham lost £5.1 million during the 2022-23 season, which ended with the club re-entering League Two. This means that in their first two full seasons under Reynolds and McElhenney, the club lost over £8 million. Accounts up to June 2024 will be published this spring.
Wage costs rose from £4.05m in 2021-22 to £6.9m as they won the National League title, while total turnover rose from £5.97m to £10.47m.
Influence Welcome to Wrexham a documentary on the club's global profile saw retail sales increase from £1.3m to £3.4m, and the club had £2.58m in total overseas revenue.
However, the eye-watering losses are forecast to fall now that the new ownership is in its fourth year. Turnover has reportedly grown significantly over the past 12 months and the club said it expects total revenue to exceed £20m after securing lucrative sponsorship deals with United Airlines and SToK Coffee Brew.
Wrexham also welcomed the Allyn family, who made their fortune through Welch Allyn, the global medical equipment maker, as new minority investors in October.
Is Wrexham's stadium big enough for the Championship?
Wrexham's Racecourse Ground
The racetrack, where the showdown will take place on Thursday, has a capacity of 13,341.
Wrexham's average attendance is 12,869 this season – the fifth highest in League One – with almost every match sold out. Their average total would place them third bottom in the Championship attendance table.
The club plans to renovate the 5,500-capacity Kop, which was demolished in January 2023, unused and abandoned since 2007, and replaced with 3,000 temporary seats.
A new architect – Populous – who has worked on Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the Principality Stadium, has been appointed to redesign the stand which was originally due to open in time for the season.
It will include provisions for safe standing, hospitality and accessible seating and be fully compliant with UEFA's category four stadium requirements with a target completion date of 2026. McElhenney spoke of increasing capacity to 50,000.
A new era begins for Birmingham
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David Beckham, Tom Brady, Rob McElhenney and Gary Neville attended September's match between Birmingham and Wrexham
While Wrexham was rebuilding, Birmingham were rebuilding after relegation from the Championship. Their takeover in the summer of 2023 led to an unexpected setback that did not dent their ambitions.
With a cash injection of £58m, the new owners plan to build a new stadium after buying 60 acres of land around a mile from St Andrew's.
Birmingham showed their intent last summer as well, signing 13 first-team players for a reported £20m and breaking the League One transfer record by signing striker Stansfield for more than £15m from Fulham.
The 21-year-old striker has been on loan at the club in the 2023/24 season, scoring 13 goals and providing three assists in all competitions, and has scored 12 league goals in 21 games this term.
Alfie May, last season's League One Golden Boot winner, joined from Charlton for an undisclosed fee and has 10 goals, along with goalkeepers Ryan Allsop and Bailey Peacock-Farrell and one each from Celtic, Hearts and Rangers.
The Blues have cashed in on academy product Jordan James, selling him for a reported £8million, with manager Chris Davies warning Wrexham that his side are more settled now than when they first met.
“We were a fledgling team at the time,” Davies said Sky Sports. “We've come a long way since then.”
Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 14 matches in all competitions, winning 12 after suffering a shock league defeat at Shrewsbury.
But Davies has dropped Seung-Ho Paik and Willum Willumsson from Wrexham and is expected to be without midfielder Tomoki Iwata. All the trio were regulars.
Wrexham, meanwhile, could be without McClean after he was involved in a car accident on his way to training on Wednesday morning.
The hosts were beaten at Shrewsbury last time out and have lost two of their last three which saw them lose ground at both Wycombe and Birmingham.
Something has to give.
Watch Wrexham vs Birmingham live on Sky Sports Main Event and Football from 7pm on Thursday; beginning at 8 p.m