The Spireites will begin their 2026/27 season with a double-header against Fleetwood Town, the first of which will come at Highbury Stadium in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
The last time Chesterfield won in this competition was back in 2006, in a run that included victories against Manchester City, Wolves and West Ham, before being knocked out by Charlton Athletic on penalties.
Fleetwood were knocked out in the first round of the Carabao Cup last season, after holding Barnsley to a 2-2 draw and losing on penalties at Oakwell.
In the Spotlight
Fleetwood completed the signing of Andy Cannon last month, who had been a part of Wrexham’s three successive promotions from the National League to the Championship.
Cannon spent last season at Burton Albion, where he made 16 appearances as the Brewers finished 17th in League One.
Head to head
Last season, the Spireites drew 1-1 in both meetings with Fleetwood in League Two; the most recent was back in April as Ryan Stark salvaged a last-minute point with his first Chesterfield goal.
The Spireites have found wins hard to come by at Highbury Stadium, with the last victory coming in 2015, as Sylvan Ebanks-Blake’s first-half strike secured a 1-0 win.
Man in the Middle
Martin Coy will take charge of this round one tie, assisted by Conor Ledgeway, Danny Jarvis and fourth official Joe Simpson.
Coy has officiated five previous games involving Chesterfield, which include two wins, two losses and one draw.
The most recent was the Spireites’ 2-0 loss in the League Two Play-off first-leg against Walsall.
Paul Cook’s thoughts
“We will be picking the team we think can win the game; none of the jargon about pre-season minutes, we are here to win. There are no secrets in football; there are no marginal gains in tactics; the best team will win tomorrow.
