ADVER Sport's guide to Town's next opponent: Chesterfield.

The Chalkboard

After some early experimentation with 4-2-3-1, Spireites boss Dean Saunders has been sticking 4-4-2 of late.

It serves to bring the best out of frontman Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, as he’s partnered with Lee Novak up top.
In the middle Chris Herd and Sam Morsy offer steel and Morsy in particular is important in making Chesterfield tick.

Saunders likes his side to play from the back and the captain is the fulcrum of much of that approach, he joins defence and midfield. Herd is the ball-winner. 

The final ball has been a problem, but watch for the wide men of Chesterield to switch throughout the game.

Likely Line-up

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

A Man In Form: Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake

THERE are few people in the Football League who do not know about the threat of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

The 29-year-old striker started playing first-team football in 2004 and has been scoring goals ever since.

After rising to prominence with Wolves, the last couple of years has seen the Chesterfield man struggle for fitness and drop down the leagues.

After re-uniting with Dean Saunders, his former boss at Molineux, Ebanks-Blake has started to rediscover his goalscoring prowess.

He has seven goals in all competitions and five in his last eight.

Playing in with Lee Novak, Ebanks-Blake looks menacing, inside the box he is a real danger. Town’s back four will have to keep an eye on his attempts to sneak in behind or for any balls dropping his direction.

Ebanks-Blake is not the sort of player you give more than one chance to.

The Treatment Room

HAVING signed on from Millwall in the summer Angel Martinez looked likely to become a big player for the Spireites, as they conceded only one goal in his three appearances in midfield.

Since the Spaniard injured his cruciate in training, Dean Saunders’ side have become increasingly leaky.
However, Martinez is Chesterfield’s only injury concern.

Otherwise they have been slowly nursing back much of their first team to full fitness.

In replacing the likes of Eoin Doyle, Gary Roberts and Tendayi Darikwa, Saunders brought in quality players, but carrying fitness issues. 

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Chris Herd and Lee Novak were all short of game-time prior to their arrival at the Proact and part of the reason for the slow start by Chesterfield has been those players finding their way back to full match-sharpness.

Oppo Form Guide

Sat, Oct 31
Skybet League 1
1-0 Win v
Fleetwood (A)

Mon, Nov 9
FA Cup R1
4-1 Win v 
FC United (A)

Sat, Nov 14
Skybet League 1
2-1 Defeat v 
Oldham (H)

Sat, Nov 21 
Skybet League 1
3-2 Defeat v 
Port Vale (A)

Tue, Nov 24
Skybet League 1
3-0 Defeat v 
Doncaster (A)

Goalscorers

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake: 7
Lee Novak: 4
Dan Gardner: 3

Discipline

Daniel Jones: 1R, 3Y
Drew Talbot: 1R, 1Y
Emmanuel Dieseruvwe: 1R

The Stat

These two sides have never played out a goalless draw in their 45 meetings in all competitions.