Match preview: Walsall (h)

After four points in two games on the road, the Spireites return to the SMH Group Stadium for an encounter with Walsall.

The Saddlers have made a strong start to the season with six wins out of nine, but suffered a heavy defeat in midweek as Fleetwood came away from the Bescot Stadium with a 6-2 win.

Head-to-head

This will be the first time the sides have met since the 2016/17 League One campaign, where both sides won in their respective home fixture.

The Spireites took a 2-0 win at the then Proact Stadium thanks to a brace from Ched Evans, before Walsall won the return fixture 1-0 with the goal coming from Scotsman Scott Laird.

Paul Cook’s record against the Saddlers features three wins and one loss in four games, two of which were in his first spell with the Spireites.

The first encounter was a 1-0 away loss for his Chesterfield side with Tom Bradshaw netting just after the hour-mark.

Cook’s side won the return fixture 1-0 as Sam Hird scored an 86th minute winner.

Mat Sadler

The Walsall job is Mat Saddler’s first in football management, becoming head coach last year at the club he retired with at the end of the 2021/22 season.

Sadler’s side finished 11th in his first full season in charge last year, missing out on the play-offs by five points after only winning once in their final five fixtures.

Sadler travels to the SMH Group Stadium for the first time since he played for Shrewsbury in 2017, when Tyler Roberts’ early goal was cancelled out by Ian Evatt just before the interval.

Player-in-focus

Jamille Matt has been with the Saddlers since January 2023 and has enjoyed a good start to the season, netting three times so far this campaign after only managing six in all competitions last season.

Now 34, Matt has established himself in the lower leagues of English football, enjoying a fruitful spell with Forest Green Rovers as he helped them make their way into League One for the first time in their history.