Saturday sees York back on the road as they make a first trip to Chesterfield’s SMH Group Stadium since 2023. How can we expect Paul Cook’s Spireites to line up for the game, and who are their players to watch?
We’ve met before…
York and Chesterfield’s most recent meetings came when they spent two seasons together in the National League before the Spireites won promotion in 2024. Although City were struggling near the foot of the table in both campaigns while Chesterfield competed at the top end, the Minstermen actually had the better of the four encounters, securing two wins and a draw.
In the 2022/23 season, a Mitch Hancox equaliser secured a 1-1 draw for York in October, after current City player Jeff King had opened the scoring for the Spireites. The reverse fixture on Good Friday saw Mikey Morton’s relegation-threatened York side pull off an unlikely 3-1 away win, with Olly Dyson, Michael Duckworth and Paddy McLaughlin on the scoresheet. 2024/25 saw another late season win for a City side battling the drop, when goals from Maz Kouhyar and Dipo Akinyemi secured a 2-1 victory over a Chesterfield side still recovering from their own title celebrations. The last clash between the teams at the SMH Group Stadium was less enjoyable for York, though, with Neal Ardley’s side defeated 4-0.
The two clubs have met regularly throughout their history, with Chesterfield edging the overall head-to-head on 40 wins to York’s 26. Other memorable encounters include an opening-day fixture at Saltergate in August 2000, when Peter Duffield gave City the lead after just 43 seconds only for the Spireites to hit back with four second-half goals to win 4-1.
What to expect from Chesterfield
Chesterfield came into the 2026/27 season strongly backed to challenge for promotion, having made the League Two playoffs in both of the last two seasons. Their early season form has been mixed, however, with impressive away wins at Salford and Oldham not matched by their home form, as the Spireites have failed to win any of their first three league fixtures at the SMH Group Stadium. Manager Paul Cook, generally a popular figure at the club having led them to the National League title in 2024, has begun to come in for some criticism over tactics and team selection. Fan mood has improved over the last two games, though, with a last-minute equaliser securing a 3-3 draw with Barnet, then an impressive 2-1 win at Oldham last weekend.
Cook tends to set his team up in a 4-2-3-1 shape, and is committed to a possession-focussed playing style. He also likes to commit numbers forward in attack and play with a high defensive line. It will be interesting to see how the game plays out from a tactical standpoint, with York also looking to dominate possession and attack with numbers. Both sides rank among the best in the league for chance creation, but both have only claimed one clean sheet so far this season, so an end-to-end game with plenty of goals could be on the cards.
Ryan Boot has been Chesterfield’s starting goalkeeper so far this season, but will face strong competition for his place soon with last season's first choice Zach Hemming close to returning from injury. Boot should retain his place for Saturday’s game at least, however.
Remeao Hutton should start at right-back, having impressed since joining from Gillingham in the summer. Backup is provided by 19-year-old Junior Eccleston, who scored his first Chesterfield goal in midweek in the EFL Trophy. At left-back, Lewis Gordon is likely to keep his place, although Tom Pearce has now returned from a spell on the sidelines and offers another option.
The starting centre-back duo of 39-year-old Kyle McFadzean and summer signing Jack Simpson look set to continue. Alfie Pond, another summer arrival, offers cover from the bench, while Malik Owolabi-Belewu will miss out after suffering a setback in his injury recovery.
In central midfield, the technically gifted George McEachran arrived from Grimsby this summer and has been an ever-present so far this season so looks to be a guaranteed starter. His most likely partner in deep-lying midfield is Ryan Stirk, assuming he has recovered from the knock that saw him taken off at Oldham. Veteran Tom Naylor is a favourite of Paul Cook but is mostly used from the bench now, while there are also two young loanees providing midfield cover in Kiano Dyer of Chelsea and Rafiq Lamptey of Millwall.
Chesterfield's wide attackers are key to their threat going forward. Dilan Markanday generally lines up on the right wing, and enjoys running at defences and cutting inside onto his favoured left foot. On the left flank, Sierra Leone international Josh Koroma is the most likely starter having joined on a season-long loan from Leyton Orient. Dylan Duffy is another winger on the club's books who is nearing a return from injury, so he could potentially return to the matchday squad.
The central attacking midfield spot should be claimed by Louie Marsh, with the young Sheffield United loanee having announced himself with a recent brace against Barnet. Other options including the more experienced Liam Mandeville and another loanee in Joel Randall from Bolton, who is the son of former York midfielder Adrian Randall.
The Spireites’ first choice at centre-forward is Northern Ireland international Lee Bonis, who scored 17 times for them in 2025/26 and has two goals to his name this season. Competition up front is provided by Fraser Bryden, who joined from Crusaders over summer and opened his account for Chesterfield in the midweek EFL Trophy win over Manchester City U21.
York team news
There seems little incentive for Scott Lindsey to make changes to the line-up that ran out 4-0 winners over Swindon last weekend, based on both that performance and the underwhelming display put in by City's second string against Newcastle U21 in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday. The only selection that might be open for question is the right wing-back spot. Joe Felix was rested against Swindon having been judged by Lindsey to be fatigued, but came off the bench to claim an assist in that game and followed it up with a rare goal in midweek, so could regain his place. The most likely outcome would seem to be Jeff King retaining the role after being left out of the EFL Trophy game, however. With King and Banks having combined for York’s second goal against their former club Swindon last weekend, they will perhaps be hoping to repeat the trick on Saturday, with both players having been part of Chesterfield’s National League title-winning side.
Craig Hewitt will miss out having picked up a hamstring injury this week, so a space on the bench will be available for one player who wasn’t involved in the matchday squad for the Swindon game. Lindsey confirmed that Frankie Maguire has recently returned to full training, so if he is deemed ready to return to action then he may be included among the substitutes. Otherwise, Dipo Akinyemi may be named on the bench, or perhaps even young Ben Farrar after his man of the match performance in midweek. Hiram Boateng has returned to some light training but probably remains weeks away from a return, while Josh Stones and Morgan Williams are other long-term absentees.
