Aiming to put further distance between themselves and the chasing pack in the National League standings, league leaders Chesterfield welcome playoff hopefuls Altrincham to the SMH Group Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Spireites side full of academy players were knocked out of the FA Trophy on the weekend, while the Robins were sentenced to a similar fate at Kidderminster Harriers.
Match preview
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Following a simply-hectic Christmas period which saw Chesterfield battle in the National League and travel to Championship outfit Watford in the third round of the FA Cup, youth coach Neil Cuxton took his players to represent the Spireites at National League South's Welling United in the FA Trophy on Saturday.
Although the matchup against the sixth-tier outfit was a great learning experience for the club's young players, Welling were the dominant side throughout and bagged two second-half goals to assure their passage into the fifth round, with David Kamara and Enoch Muwonge finding the net.
Former Wigan Athletic and Northern Ireland international Will Grigg was the star of the show the last time Chesterfield's first team played a competitive fixture on January 10, as the 32-year-old netted a sensational hat-trick to help Paul Cook's men to a 5-0 thrashing of top-seven chasing Gateshead.
After the Hollywood storyline of Ryan Reynolds's Wrexham and Notts County scrapping for the fifth-tier crown last season, the Spireites are definitely the main character this time around, with Tuesday's hosts currently first in the league standings, nine points ahead of second-placed Bromley with two games in hand.
Chesterfield's form at SMH Group Stadium so far in 2023-24 has been all-but flawless, with Cook's charges dropping just two points in 13 league matches in front of their home faithful, scoring 42 goals along the way - 12 more than any other team in the National League has managed during home contests.
Squeezing past Halifax Town courtesy of a penalty shootout in the third round of the FA Trophy in December, Altrincham were unable to hold their nerve from 12 yards in the fourth round at Kidderminster on Saturday, with the Harriers advancing from the spot following a goalless regular period.
The Robins only have National League football to contend with between now and the conclusion of the campaign, and supporters will be hoping that a single-tracked mind will be able to secure their side an unlikely spot in the playoffs after third-straight seasons of mid-table finishes.
Altrincham flexed their promotion-earning credentials during their last fifth-tier matchup at home to third-placed Barnet, who found themselves three goals behind after 49 minutes due to strikes from Alex Newby, Lewis Baines and a Jerome Okimo own goal, with Phil Parkinson's side able to weather a late storm to cling onto maximum points.
Like Tuesday's opponents Chesterfield, the Robins also boast a goalscoring Northern Irishman in their attacking ranks, with former Fleetwood Town man Christopher Conn-Clarke bagging 14 goals in 26 National League matches since a permanent switch from the Cod Army in the summer.
Parkinson's men currently occupy fifth position in the fifth-tier standings after collecting 43 points from their opening 26 matches, holding a three-point advantage over eighth-placed Gateshead, but the 22-point gap to the first-placed Spireites does appear rather unbridgeable.
Team News
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Chesterfield are expected to be without the services of Ryan Colclough for Tuesday night's clash, with the winger being forced off due to an ankle injury in the win over Gateshead.
There are also doubts surrounding the involvement of Miguel Freckleton, who missed the last match owing to a tight hamstring, and it remains to be seen whether the Sheffield United loanee features in this one.
After finding the net in the five-star success last week, Tom Naylor and Michael Jacobs are set to keep their spots in Cook's XI in midweek.
Although Conn-Clarke is the main source of goals for Altrincham, Justin Amaluzor and Regan Linney have produced their fair share of contributions this term and should both start on Tuesday.
The Robins are without the talents of summer arrival Olly Crankshaw for the remainder of the season after he suffered a serious ligament injury at Barnet in September.
Chesterfield possible starting lineup:
Boot; Sheckleford, Freckleton, Palmer, Horton; Naylor, Oldaker, Mandeville; Banks, Grigg, Quigley
Altrincham possible starting lineup:
Ross; Baines, Banks, Mooney, Newby; Osborne, Roscoe-Byrne, Southern-Cooper; Conn-Clarke, Linney, Amaluzor
We say: Chesterfield 2-0 Altrincham
Chesterfield are unbeaten on home soil in the National League this season and should have no fears of facing Altrincham on Tuesday night.
The Robins will be tough nuts to crack, but we believe that the Spireites will get the job done at the SMH Group Stadium.
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