After exiting both the Vertu Trophy and FA Cup in the last week, the Spireites can shift their full attention to the league ahead of the busy Christmas period.
First up is a trip to Cambridge, who are in good form and haven’t lost a home League Two fixture since a 1-0 defeat to Oldham Athletic in early September.
The sides will meet twice in December, with Cambridge heading to the SMH Group Stadium on Monday, December 29, for a 7:45pm kick-off.
In the spotlight
James Brophy joined Cambridge in 2021 upon their promotion to League One and has featured 232 times for the U’s.
He only found the back of the net four times last season despite making 53 appearances, but he has found better form in 2025/26 having scored five goals in 23 games in all competitions.
He has faced the Spireites four times whilst representing Swindon Town and Leyton Orient, winning three and losing one.
The gaffer’s record
Paul Cook boasts a strong record against Cambridge throughout his managerial career, with his only defeat coming almost 20 years ago whilst manager of Southport in the National League.
Since then, he enjoyed four wins with Portsmouth before being held to a 2-2 draw during his spell with Ipswich Town – a game in which James Brophy scored in.
Man in the middle
Taking charge of Tuesday’s fixture is Elliott Swallow who, in his 191 games as a referee, has awarded 809 yellows, 21 reds and 54 penalties.
He has officiated three Chesterfield games in the past, all of which were in the National League – losses against Barnet and Stockport County as well as a 2-2 draw with Yeovil Town.
Gary Roberts’ pre-match thoughts
“Everyone’s at this level for a reason. They’re probably one of the favourites to go up, especially with a really experienced coach from a higher level.
“At the minute we feel that, in our last two performances against Swindon and the Doncaster, we’ve been quite consistent and good.
“We’ve been really in both games and could have got different results in both of them, so we’ll be going there confident.”
