Match preview: Notts County (a)

The Spireites will be looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season on Saturday in front of the BT Sport cameras when they take on Notts County at Meadow Lane. Paul Cook has plenty of options to choose from when it comes to selecting his squad with lots of players knocking at the door for their place in the side.

Here’s all you need to know…

Match details

Date: Saturday, August 20, 2022

Kick-off: 5:20pm

Competition: National League

Opponents: Notts County

Location: Meadow Lane

TICKETShttps://tickets.chesterfield-fc.co.uk/

Matchday Coverage

Live radio commentary

Our in-house radio station, 1866 Sport, will provide full match commentary on the game, as well as pre-match/post-match analysis.

Don’t forget that 1866 Sport is on air 24-hours a day, seven days a week! 

You can download the app from the Apple Store here: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/1866-sport/id1580041321

If you’re an Android user, you can download the app here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radio.ma57501030

Alternatively, you can listen online here: https://streaming.radio.co/s47db4a4f3/listen            

It is also available via Alexa.

Commentary is provided by Phil Tooley. It is sponsored by National Windscreens.

Social media

Our official Twitter page (https://twitter.com/ChesterfieldFC) will provide regular updates on the match. It is also the place to find our exclusive goal GIFs, which are used when a player scores a goal. 

Key news will also be posted on our Facebook page, which can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/ChesterfieldFC

Our official Instagram page will keep you posted with key moments and content throughout the day on our stories: https://www.instagram.com/chesterfieldfc/?hl=en

The post-match interview with manager Paul Cook will be posted to our YouTube Channel soon after the game is finished: https://youtube.com/user/OfficialChesterfield

Highlights of the game will also be posted to our YouTube Channel.

The Opposition

Fact file

Name: Notts County

Nicknames: The Magpies

Founded: 1862

Stadium: Meadow Lane

Capacity: 19,841

Manager: Luke Williams

On Notts County

Notts County are the oldest professional football club in the world. They were founded back in 1862. The club became one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888, they finished their first league season in 11th place. 

They are nicknamed the “Magpies” due to the black and white colour of their home strip, which inspired Italian club Juventus to adopt the colours for their kit in 1903.

The club have been in and around the Football League since their existence and only dropped into the non-league pyramid back in 2019. They have been in the National League ever since but came very close to promotion back to the Football League back in the 2020 but subsequently lost to Harrogate Town in the play-off final. 

This season Notts will once again be hoping to mount a promotion charge and finally regain their Football League status.

One to watch

Rúben Rodrigues is a Portuguese-born striker who played for a number of different clubs abroad before moving to England to sign for Notts in 2020.

He began his career at Wilhelmina Boys before making the switch to Gemert. He then signed for De Bosch in 2018 where he made 33 appearances, scoring 21 goals for the Dutch club.

Rodrigues then signed for Notts where he has since made 79 appearances scoring 31 goals. The 26-year-old striker is a fan favourite amongst the Magpies supporters and will be looking to continue his impressive goalscoring record this season. 

Recent Form

Chesterfield FC: D/W/W

Wrexham AFC: W/D/D

Last time we met

The last time the two sides met was back in March 2022 where the Spireites were 3-1 winners at the Technique Stadium. Laurence Maguire scored a brace on the day while Akwasi Asante scored the third from the spot.

Team news

Ross Fitzsimons will start between the sticks as Lucas Covolan completes his three-match ban. 

Kabongo Tshimanga and Jack Clarke have been described as ‘ready to go’ ahead of the fixture and both will be looking to earn their place in the starting XI.

Akwasi Asante got back in the side last time out after his injury and the striker will be hoping he is deemed fit enough to keep his place in the side.

Gary Roberts’ thoughts

“Luke Williams is a terrific coach. His teams have played football and he’s gone into management and kept the same style.

“They are a good team. They totally dominated the game at Gateshead and should’ve won. I thought they played really well.

“I enjoy watching them and working on them. We’ll come up with a plan where we feel we can get our good players where they can cause problems.

“It will be a good game. It’s two good team who are desperate to win and desperate to get out of this division.

“Our fans will turn up – we know that – and they get decent fans as well. The pitch will be nice and it should settle for a good game.”