Chesterfield are in action at Rodney Parade in South Wales this afternoon for a clash with a relegation-fighting Newport County.
Paul Cook’s side are coming off the back of three consecutive draws against Oldham Athletic, MK Dons and Bromley.
The Exiles were on the brink of securing a first 2026 victory last time out, before two goals in added time saw Gillingham 3-2 victors.
In the Spotlight
Nathaniel Opoku, who is on a season-long loan from Leicester City, has made 16 appearances in all competitions, scoring three and assisting twice.
Two of those goal contributions have come in his last two games – scoring a late consolation goal at Bromley and assisting Michael Spellman’s early opener at Gillingham.
All three of Opoku’s goals have come from within the six-yard box, operating as Newport’s biggest goal threat.
The Gaffer’s Record
Paul Cook has faced Newport on ten occasions, winning six, drawing once and losing three times.
All of the past three games between Cook’s Spireites and Newport have gone in his favour, with the most notable being a 4-1 win earlier this season at the SMH Group Stadium.
The last meeting at Rodney Parade ended 3-0 to Chesterfield, thanks to Dilan Markanday’s goal inside 60 seconds and a late brace from Will Grigg, in October 2024.
Man in the middle
Declan Brown will take charge of the fixture, assisted by Ashley Allen, Daniel Robinson and the fourth official, Keiran Forrest.
This will be Brown’s first time officiating both teams and will be only the third League Two game in his career.
In his two previous League Two games, Brown has given out four yellow cards and two red cards.
Gary Roberts’ thoughts
“It’s a tricky game. The team were fighting and scrapping. I was on the way home last week and on 90 minutes they were out of the bottom two, but they concede the two late goals at Gillingham and they’re back down the bottom.
“They were nearly out of it, which would have given them a big injection, but everyone is where they are in the league for a reason. We’ve got to go there, look after ourselves, step on and if we want to be up the league, we’ve got to start winning games.”
