League Two side Chesterfield will play host to Championship team Sheffield United when the two teams meet at the SMH Group Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Spireites lost their first two friendlies before earning their first win against Alfreton earlier this week, while the Blades won their opening pre-season fixture against York City.
Match preview
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After suffering back-to-back relegations from League One and League Two between 2017 and 2018, Chesterfield have slowly had to build their way back up through the National League in recent years, finally earning promotion into the English football league once again last campaign.
Following a relegation scare in 2019-20, surviving by just three points, the Spireites qualified for the playoffs in each of the next three years, losing in the quarter-final, semi-final and final in 2022-23.
However, Chesterfield showed improvement once again last season as they emerged as champions of the National League, claiming the title with a commanding 12-point lead, securing their return to League Two six years after being relegated.
Paul Cook's side did falter towards the end of the campaign, losing five of the last seven fixtures, and that form looked to have carried into pre-season as they lost on penalties against Matlock Town and 3-0 to Nottingham Forest.
Chesterfield did manage their first win in their preparations for the new season in their last game, though, narrowly beating Alfreton Town 2-1, but they will have to be much improved if they are to get a result against Sheffield United on Saturday.
The Blades come into this one preparing for their return to the Championship after enduring a torrid season in the top flight, amassing just 16 points from 38 matches and finishing at the foot of the table.
Chris Wilder, who was brought back to the club in December, failed to turn things around at his old club, guiding Sheffield United to just three wins and 18 losses in 26 matches, but the club have seemingly backed the manager to lead them into the new season.
Their pre-season schedule got off to a good start with a 2-1 win over York City last weekend, their first win across all competitions since February, and Wilder will be eager to maintain positive momentum before their opening Championship fixture against Preston North End.
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Team News
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Chesterfield were trailing by one goal against National League North side Alfreton last week before James Berry-McNally equalised just after half time, with substitute Tom Naylor scoring the winner 12 minutes from time, and both could be in line for a start here.
Goalkeeper Ryan Boot played the entirety of that eventual victory, just his fourth appearance in 2024, and is likely to start from the beginning once again on Saturday.
As for the Blades, Jamie Shackleton made his first appearance for the club as he came off the bench, and the midfielder is expected to play from the start here.
Sheffield United will likely be without both Sam McCallum and Gustavo Hamer for this one, though, with both still getting up to speed following injury issues.
Chesterfield possible starting lineup:
Boot; Sheckleford, Dunkley, Grimes, Gordon; Naylor, Oldaker; Madden, Berry-McNally, Dobra; Griggs
Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Davies; Curtis, Robinson, Souza, Ahmedhodzic, Buyabu; Shackleton, Marsh, Freckleton; Traore, Brewster
We say: Chesterfield 0-2 Sheffield United
Chesterfield's players should have better levels of match sharpness than their opponents due to them playing twice more in pre-season, but Sheffield United's overall quality means they should go on to win this one.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Chesterfield win with a probability of 43.8%. A win for Sheffield United had a probability of 32.65% and a draw had a probability of 23.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Chesterfield win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (7.45%) and 2-0 (6.29%). The likeliest Sheffield United win was 1-2 (7.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.66%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2.2% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Sheffield United would win this match.
Ellis Stevens
