Cheltenham vs Chesterfield

Cheltenham Town will play at home for the first time this season as they welcome Chesterfield to The EV Charger Points Stadium on Saturday in matchday two of the League Two campaign.

The Robins will be hoping that home advantage gives them the edge after suffering a narrow opening-day defeat, while the visitors head into the contest looking to build on their positive start.

Match preview

Cheltenham were edged 1-0 by Cambridge United in their opening fixture, with Joel Aopere’s 59th-minute strike proving the difference in a closely-contested match. 

Despite a few promising moments, Michael Flynn’s side could not convert their chances and conceded several dangerous free kicks in key areas, a concern the manager is likely to address before Saturday.

The defeat followed a 15th-place finish last season, where they ended 10 points off the playoffs and 18 clear of relegation, a stable return after dropping from League One the previous year.

In their last six meetings, both teams have claimed two wins each, with two games ending in draws.

Chesterfield, meanwhile, started their season with a hard-fought 1-0 win at home to Barrow. Amaan Markanday’s goal just before half-time secured the points in a match they largely controlled, creating several chances from wide areas. 

Manager Paul Cook, now in his fourth year in charge, will be keen for his side to carry that momentum into this away fixture.

Having been at the helm since 2022, Cook guided Chesterfield to a seventh-place finish last season, as the Spireites sneaked into the playoffs but suffered a 4-1 aggregate loss to Walsall in the semi-finals.

In their two meetings with Cheltenham last season, they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home in a game they should have won, before falling to a last-gasp 1-0 defeat away in a match they also largely controlled.

Cheltenham Town League Two form:

L

Chesterfield League Two form:

W

Team News

Cheltenham, striker Jake Bickerstaff made his debut last time out after joining on loan from Wrexham and is expected to feature again.

The club also brought in two 19-year-old defenders on season-long loans, Jokubas Mazionis from Ipswich Town and Taine Anderson from Bristol City, both of whom featured in the opener and will be aiming for more minutes this weekend.

Chesterfield remain without John Fleck, who missed the Barrow game due to a rib injury and is expected to stay sidelined for a couple more weeks. 

Janoi Donacien is still on the road to full recovery from the hamstring injury he picked up in March.

Markanday is likely to keep his place after scoring on his debut, while Dunkley is expected to continue at the back alongside McFadzean.

New signing Joe Bonis could be handed a start up front in place of William Grigg, who struggled to make an impact in the opener.

Cheltenham Town possible starting lineup:

Day; Power, Cundy, Bennett, Anderson; Kinsella, Young; Thomas, Broom, Archer; Miller

Chesterfield possible starting lineup:

Hemming; Campbell, Dunkley, McFadzean, Gordon; Naylor, Stirk; Markanday, Duffy, Dobra; Grigg

We say: Cheltenham Town 1- 1 Chesterfield

Cheltenham will be eager to respond in front of their home fans after a disappointing start, while Chesterfield come into this with confidence after their opening-day win.

With both sides still finding rhythm early in the season and having a fairly even head-to-head record, a draw feels like a fair outcome.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

ID:578787:1false2false3false: from db desktop :LenBod:collect5442:

No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole‘s daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!