Match preview: Wrexham (h)

The Spireites play host to Wrexham in the National League on Saturday (3pm) at the Technique Stadium. 

How to watch:

The game is available to stream on the Chesterfield website at a cost of £10. You can purchase the stream via the following link: https://page.inplayer.com/ChesterfieldFC/index.html

Former Chesterfield forward Phill Walker will join Steve Yorke on commentary on the Spireites+ stream.

Audio commentary on the match will be provided in association with Elastic FM. A link to the commentary will be posted on our website and social media channels in the build-up to kick-off. Former Spireite Steve Williams will join commentator Alan Wilkinson as the match summariser.

Opposition

Manager: Dean Keates

Fact File: Age: 42

Years spent as footballer – 21

Position – Midfielder

Teams played for – Walsall (1995-2002) Hull City (2002-2004), Kidderminster Harriers (2004-2005), Lincoln City (2005-2006), Walsall (2006-2007), Peterborough United (2007-2009), Wycombe Wanderers (2010), Wrexham (2010-2015), Rhyl (2015-2016) and Rushall Olympic (2016).

Years spent in management – Five

Teams managed – Wrexham (2016-2018), Walsall (2018-2019) and Wrexham (2019-Present)

Record against Chesterfield as manager – P4     W1     D1     L2

One to Watch: Adi Yussuf

Age: 26

Position: Forward

What other clubs has he played for? Leicester City (2011), Tamworth on loan (2011), Burton Albion (2011-2013), Lincoln City (2013-2014), Gainsborough Trinity on loan (2013), Harrogate Town on loan (2014), Histon on loan (2014), Oxford City (2014-2015), Mansfield Town (2015-2016), Crawley Town (2016-2017), Grimsby Town (2017), Barrow (2017-2018), Solihull Moors (2018-2019), Blackpool (2019- Present), Solihull Moors on loan (2019-2020) and Boreham Wood on loan (2020).

Last Season’s Stats in All Competitions:

Games Played: 16

Goals: One

Assists: None

Yellow Cards: One

Red Cards: None

Minutes Played: 462

Head to Head

This will be the 120th time that the two teams have come up against each other. The Spireites have won 53 of those games, whilst the Welsh club have tasted victory on 39 occasions.

Chesterfield and Wrexham played each other four times last season with the Blues winning both league games. Curtis Weston grabbed a stoppage-time winner in the memorable 3-2 win at the Technique Stadium last February.

Form Guide

James Rowe’s side bounced back from defeat at Solihull Moors with a 4-1 penalty shoot-out victory over Boston United in the FA Trophy fourth round.

Wrexham have lost three of their last five games with defeats coming against Torquay United, Leamington in the FA Trophy (on penalties) and Stockport County.

Team News

New signings Grant Smith, Adam Przybek, Alex Whittle and Gavin Gunning are all available for selection.

Tom Denton will miss the game following a flare up of his knee injury, which the striker has had a scan on.

From the dugout:

James Rowe: “We are really looking forward to the game against a Wrexham team who were in great from in November. They dipped off a little bit but picked up a win most recently against Dover.

“They are one of the biggest clubs in this league. They have aspirations to get back into the EFL and they have been in this league too long for their liking.”