Preview: Chesterfield vs. Weymouth - prediction, team news, lineups

Second-placed Chesterfield take on Weymouth at the Technique Stadium as part of the National League action on Saturday.

The hosts lost top spot to Boreham Wood with their draw two weeks ago, whilst the visitors won for the second game in a row after putting an end to a recent slump in form.

Match preview

After suffering playoff heartache in their quest for promotion back to the EFL last season, Chesterfield are heading in the right direction once more in the early stages of the 2021-22 campaign.

James Rowe's men have tasted defeat just once all season so far, and occupy second place in the table after the opening 14 fixtures as a result.

Top spot was theirs for a large period until they dropped two points at Dagenham & Redbridge when they were last in domestic action two weeks ago.

Although, in the end it turned out to be a point gained rather than two dropped, with Jamie Grimes and Kabongo Tshimanga netting a quickfire second-half double to see the Spireites come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2.

Grimes was sent off late in that game for a second booking, and Chesterfield also saw another man see red in their last outing last weekend, when Calvin Miller was involved in a bust-up in the closing stages of their 3-1 win over Southend United in the FA Cup.

Tshimanga was on the scoresheet again in that one, with Saidou Khan and Luke Croll scoring the other goals as Chesterfield progressed to the second round of the cup despite falling behind early on against fellow National League opponents.

Meanwhile, visitors Weymouth have won back-to-back matches prior to the FA Cup action last weekend.

The Terras have had a two-week break between fixtures due to being knocked out in the final round of qualifying for the FA Cup by Yeovil Town in October.

Manager Brian Stock will have welcomed the break in order to freshen his squad up, but will also have hoped to have had the opportunity for his players to continue playing in order to retain their momentum gained from the victories over Aldershot Town and King's Lynn Town.

Those successes were only the third and fourth of the campaign, with the previous two also arriving in succession of each other earlier in the season.

However, the previous back-to-back wins were followed by a 10-match winless streak, which preceded the Aldershot and King's Lynn victories, so the boss will be keen to ensure that poor run of form is not repeated again this time around.

Two wins from two against sides sitting in the relegation places were vital for Weymouth in their quest to avoid the drop again, and have lifted Stock's side into 17th place heading into Saturday's difficult trip to Chesterfield.

Team News

After receiving a straight red card against Southend last week, Miller will serve the first of his three-match suspension against Weymouth on Saturday.

Whilst the wing-back will miss out for Chesterfield, central defender Grimes will return from his one-game ban that was served in the FA Cup tie.

The return of Grimes will be a welcome one considering manager Rowe could be without up to 10 players including the suspended Miller - with Haydn Hollis, George Carline, Laurence Maguire, Gavin Gunning, Joe Rowley, Jack Clarke, Akwasi Asante, Tom Denton and Danny Rowe all being out injured.

Clarke is close to a return so could yet be involved, whilst Croll looks set for his first league start after scoring on his debut last week.

As for Weymouth, their two-week break has allowed some players nursing knocks to freshen up and fully recover ahead of the trip to Chesterfield.

No new injury concerns have been reported, so an unchanged lineup from the win over King's Lynn could be named.

Ben Morgan completed 45 minutes in a friendly during the break as he looks to return to fitness after an achilles problem, but this game should come too soon for him.

Chesterfield possible starting lineup:

Loach; Kerr, Croll, Grimes; King, Oyeleke, McCourt, Khan, Whittle; Tshimanga, Payne

Weymouth possible starting lineup:

Fitzsimons; Olomowewe, Robinson, Leslie-Smith, Harfield; Mussa, Murray; McQuoid, Goodship, Bearwish; Thomson

We say: Chesterfield 2-0 Weymouth

Despite the back-to-back victories achieved by their opponents, Chesterfield will be expected to record a comfortable victory against Weymouth on Saturday.

Weymouth recorded those vital wins against struggling sides, so their hosts will provide a large step up in quality in this one, which should be enough for them to win despite their large list of absentees.