FORMER York City midfielder Christian Smith will not figure in tomorrow’s home match with Wrexham.

Smith, who returned to Wales in the summer after a loan spell at Bootham Crescent, will be serving the second of a three-game suspension following his reckless challenge in Saturday’s 1-0 FA Cup home defeat against League One side Swindon.

He has also picked up six bookings this season in 19 outings for the Dragons.

Another ex-Minsterman Simon Brown will also play no part having left for Tamworth last month and right-back Silvio Spann is sidelined with a hamstring problem.

City will, however, need to contend with two former Premier League players in Frank Sinclair and ex-Leeds winger Lamine Sakho, who is on loan from St Etienne.

One-time Chelsea and Leicester centre-back Sinclair, now 38, has been offered a new extended contract by manager Dean Saunders after a string of impressive defensive performances.

His efforts have helped to ensure 15th-placed Wrexham boast the fourth-meanest defensive record in the Blue Square Premier.

With just 19 goals shipped in 21 league matches, only promotion hopefuls Oxford (15), Stevenage (17) and Kettering (18) have conceded fewer times.

At the other end of the pitch, though, Wrexham have struggled.

Ex-Manchester City striker and Wales international Gareth Taylor is the Racecourse Ground club’s leading marksman this season on eight. Two-goal left-back Mike Williams, who bagged a brace in last month’s 2-2 draw against Kidderminster, is his nearest rival in the scoring charts.

Taylor has also failed to net in six league fixtures since October 17. Saunders’ men now have the division’s fourth-worst goals-for tally with 20, placing them ahead of only relegation-threatened Eastbourne (18), Forest Green (17) and Ebbsfleet (12).

Low-scoring encounters have been a feature of Wrexham’s underwhelming season with the Welshmen having been involved in four 0-0 draws and eight matches in which a single goal has settled the outcome – the latest a scrappy home victory over Forest Green on Tuesday night thanks to Wes Baynes’ 89th-minute free-kick.

The Dragons have, however, only lost one of their last nine league games – a 2-0 home reverse against Hayes and Yeading and are unbeaten in five away matches – keeping clean sheets in four – since September.

Wrexham (probable): Maxwell, Obeng, Sinclair, Westwood, Mike Williams, Baynes, Jones, Fleming, Sakho, Marc Williams, Taylor. Subs: Wolfenden, Russell, Assoumani, Fairhurst, Cieslewicz.

Match facts

City and Wrexham met 94 times in the Football League, between 1929 and 2003, and at Bootham Crescent City won 26 times with 14 draws.

The biggest win was in 1949/50 when Ron Spence hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 success.

The biggest crowd was on the opening day of the 1955/6 campaign when 12,332 saw Wrexham win 3-1.

The last of the Welsh club’s seven wins in York was 1-0 in 1994/5 and the last Football League meeting at York was in October 2002 when the game ended 1-1.

Last season the clubs met here for the first time out of the League and City won 1-0 with Mark Greaves on the score-sheet. The line-up on August 14, 2008, was Krysiak (Mimms), Purkiss, Parslow, McGurk, Robinson, Farrell, Greaves, Rusk, Wilkinson, Brodie (Henderson), McBreen (Sodje).

Among the players to have represented both clubs are Andy Provan, Clive Colbridge, Barry Jones, Michael Proctor, Richard Hope, Michael Ingham, Shaun Pejic, Levi Mackin, Simon Brown, Kyle Critchell and Christian Smith.

Denis Smith managed both clubs, while Martin Foyle had a spell as assistant boss at Wrexham early last season.

It happened on December 5

1959: John Edgar scored the goal in a 1-0 win at Crook Town in the second round of the FA Cup.

1960: City beat Tranmere Rovers 2-1 at Bootham Crescent in an FA Cup second round replay with Norman Wilkinson scoring both goals. The attendance was 10,724.

1964: A 2-1 defeat at Chesterfield in the second round of the FA Cup. Paul Aimson scored the consolation goal.

1970: John Mackin (penalty) and Paul Aimson were the marksmen in a 2-0 win at Exeter City and City were mid-table in the Fourth.

1981: A 2-2 draw at home to Stockport County with Roy Kay and Keith Walwyn on target in front of 1,782. City were in the lower reaches of Division Four.

1998: Lee Bullock made his debut in a second round FA Cup 2-1 defeat at Wrexham. Scott Jordan was the scorer and City had two players – Mark Tinkler and Martin Reed sent off.

Compiled by Dave Batters