After bouncing back from a disappointing result against Accrington with a 3-2 win over Grimsby in the final Bristol Street Motors Trophy group stage game, the Spireites are back on the road as they head north to take on Harrogate Town in a League Two clash.
The Sulphurites are in their fifth Football League season after promotion from the National League back in 2020 and will be looking to continue their progression after their transition to a full-time professional club back in 2017.
Head-to-head
The Spireites have only picked up one point against this weekend’s opponents in four meetings since 2018. The point came in a 1-1 draw when Jonathan Smith’s opener for Chesterfield was cancelled out by a 97th minute leveller from Harrogate.
The last meeting between the sides ended in a 1-0 home loss for the Spireites in the second half of Harrogate’s promotion-winning season, after Warren Burrell scored the only goal in the eighth minute.
Paul Cook will be facing Harrogate for the first time in his managerial career and will be hoping Chesterfield record their first win over the Sulphurites and climb towards the play-off positions.
Simon Weaver
Doncaster-born Weaver has been in the dugout at the Exercise Stadium since 2009, spending his first three years in a player-manager role before retiring from playing in 2012.
After leading the side to promotion to the fifth tier at the end of the 2017/18 season, Weaver quickly oversaw back-to-back play-off campaigns, ultimately earning promotion to League Two after just two seasons in the National League.
Player-in-focus
Ellis Taylor enjoyed a strong start to the season, netting three times in the league before the end of September in fixtures against Accrington, Doncaster and Bradford. The latter two resulted in wins against teams currently in the top ten.
After coming through the academy system at Sunderland, Taylor made the move to Harrogate in the summer on a two-year deal and has also featured for England at youth level.
