The Spireites travel to Vicarage Road to take on Championship side Watford in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup.
It is the third consecutive season that Chesterfield have made the third round after coming up against Chelsea and West Brom in previous campaigns.
Here’s everything you need to know…
Match Details
Date: Saturday, January 6, 2024
Opponents: Watford
Kick-off: 3pm
Competition: Emirates FA Cup
Location: Vicarage Road
Live Radio Commentary
Our in-house radio station, 1866 Sport, will provide exclusive full match commentary on the game, as well as pre and 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.
Our dedicated matchday show is sponsored by National Windscreens and will see commentator Phil Tooley joined by a special co-commentator.
Social Media
You can follow the action on our Twitter page (https://twitter.com/ChesterfieldFC), where we will provide regular updates.
Key news and moments will also be posted onto our Facebook and Instagram pages.
Pre/post-match interviews and highlights will be posted to our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6hnRkCdElagLJlOqlgukPA) throughout the weekend.
The Opposition
Name: Watford Football Club
Nickname: The Hornets
Founded: 1881
Stadium: Vicarage Road
Capacity: 22,200
Manager: Valérien Ismaël
Honours:
Third Division Champions | 1968/69 & 1997/98
Fourth Division Champions | 1977/78
Southern Football League Champions | 1914/15
On Valérien Ismaël
Valérien Ismaël played over 300 times in his professional playing career, having stints at the likes of Crystal Palace, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich. He moved into management in 2011, spending time at several European clubs. In 2020, the former defender was appointed manager of Barnsley. He led the club to the play-off, losing to Swansea City, before being poached by West Bromwich Albion. Short stints followed at the Baggies and later at Besiktas. In May 2023, Ismaël was appointed as Watford’s head coach and awarded a new contract in October.
One to watch
Mileta Rajović has had a good start to life in English football as he has roughly scored a goal every three games. Before joining the Hornets, the striker played for B.93, HB Køge, Roskilde, Næstved and Kalmar FF. It was the latter club that Rajović started the 2023/24 season at. He scored once and got an assist in their Europa Conference League qualifiers.
This season in numbers*:
Appearances – 25
Goals – 9
Assist – 1
Yellow Cards – 1
Red Cards – 0
Minutes Played – 1,437
(* Includes numbers for Kalmar FF)
Played for both
Sean Dyche joined Chesterfield in 1990 from Nottingham Forest’s academy and spent seven years at Saltergate. The defender was a part of the side that won the promotion from the Fourth Division in 1995, via the play-offs. Just two years later, Dyche captained the side that made their way to the 1997 FA Cup semi-final before narrowly losing out to Middlesbrough.
After leaving Chesterfield, the centre-back played for Bristol City, Luton Town and Millwall before making the move to Watford. Dyche played for the Hornets in the Championship for three years before he retired at Northampton Town. He also managed Watford, taking charge from June 2011 until July 2012. Despite recording the club’s best finish in four years, he was let go following a change in the ownership.
View from the dugout
Danny Webb said: “We have to be ready to maybe run a bit harder, play a bit better, and make sure we are really focused because there is a tough task at hand.
“If we do cause an upset, fantastic. If we do get defeated, we’ve got a huge game on Wednesday against Gateshead.”
