After suffering their first home league defeat of the season, losing to Swindon Town on Saturday, the Spireites are preparing for the first of two consecutive games against Doncaster Rovers. They face them on the road in the Vertu Trophy at 7pm this evening before an FA Cup second round home tie on Saturday night (7.30pm).
Chesterfield qualified for the round of 32 after earning four points in Northern Group H, with a win over Burton Albion and a 2-2 draw with Liverpool U21.
The two meetings with Doncaster in League Two last season saw great success for Paul Cook’s side, with a 3-0 win in South Yorkshire and a 5-2 victory under the floodlights at the SMH Group Stadium in January.
Vertu Trophy games in 2025/26 so far have offered a chance for players to break into the team, and those with fewer minutes may be given their opportunity at the Eco-Power Stadium this evening.
In the spotlight
Jordan Gibson has been with Rovers since the start of the 2024/25 season, and was a key figure within their title-winning squad last campaign with 14 goal contributions.
He has made a similarly strong start to this season having played every game for Grant McCann’s side, and netted twice in their recent 3-1 Vertu Trophy group stage win against Bradford City.
He is in strong form in the league too, scoring another double in last Saturday’s 2-1 win over Peterborough United to deliver a much-needed three points for his team.
Gary Roberts’ pre-match thoughts
“Different cup competitions, different priorities for both clubs, but we’ve got to go and attack the game and we want to win.
“It’ll be a chance for lads who haven’t played as much to play and put everyone in the frame to play in the FA Cup game on Saturday.
“We’ll go into the game with full respect to the competition, we’ll give it a good go and see how it goes.”
