The Spireites travel to the East Coast to face fellow Sky Bet League Two promotion candidates Grimsby Town at Blundell Park.
Chesterfield faced the Mariners on three occasions last season, winning twice at the SMH Group Stadium and drawing away from home.
David Artell’s side are the joint-highest scorers in the league and sit sixth in the table, one point above the Spireites.
In the spotlight
Charles Vernam is the joint-seventh highest scorer in League Two this season so far, scoring five, alongside five assists in 15 games this season.
The attacker has improved his goal contribution tally this season compared to both of his previous two campaigns combined with Grimsby.
On top of his league record, the 29-year-old scored and assisted in Grimsby’s historic penalty shootout win to knock giants Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup.
The gaffer’s record
Paul Cook has overseen four clashes with Grimsby in his second spell with the Spireites, amassing two wins, a loss, and a draw.
The most recent was a 1-1 draw at Blundell Park, where Tom Naylor’s header cancelled out Jordan Davies’ opener.
Both wins came at the SMH Group Stadium across Sky Bet League Two and the Vertu Trophy, winning by a single goal on each occasion.
Man in the middle
Martin Woods will officiate Saturday’s fixture, assisted by Danny Guest, Declan O’Regan and fourth official David Jones.
In nine games that Woods has taken charge of featuring the Spireites, they have won twice, drawn five and lost twice.
The most recent was a 1-1 draw with Gillingham in April, where Will Grigg netted for Chesterfield at the SMH Group Stadium.
Gary Roberts’ thoughts
“Probably the toughest team we could face in the league. Highest scorers, highest average percentage of possession, really good philosophy, well-drilled team.
“They’ve got a really strong identity in how they play, and I think David Artell has done a great job with the way they set up. It’s really good for us to watch and study them.
“They’re different to what we’ve come up against the last couple of weeks, but it’s a good challenge and should be a good football match.”
