Chesterfield v Crewe Alex 26-27 Preview - Stuttering

It almost feels weird going to Chesterfield this early in the season. They haven't visited this early in a season since 2017, when they went at Christmas. In fact, the last time they visited in the month of October was way back in 2010, the first season the ground opened. Anyone remember what the scoreline/result was on that day? Yep, it was the epic 5-5 draw. If we get a game half as dramatic as that, we'll be in for a treat. Here is my preview of the Alex's trip to Derbyshire:

Threats

Chesterfield have' amassed a strong collection of attacking talents once again, even in the face of some familiar faces moving on. There are the names carried over from previous seasons in Dilan Markanday, Lee Bonis and Liam Mandeville. But added to them are the likes of Louie Marsh and Josh Koroma, once again giving them one of the more dangerous attacking groups in the division. If the Alex's defence aren't on form, they'll concede several fairly quickly. I'd argue that the "give the opposition the ball and hope they don't score" approach might not be the wisest one.

Stuttering

However, the Spireites are once again struggling for consistency and are underperforming by a fair margin. They are 1st in xG, 1st in xG difference, 1st for shots on target per game, 2nd for big chances, 1st for touches in the opposition box. They should be top of the league by those metrics.

Yet the results haven't come close to matching the data. They are 4-4-4 through 12 games and have only won 2 of their opening 6 home games. They have kept only 2 clean sheets and have let leads slip against 3 sides already. There appears to be a growing frustration with Paul Cook and his sides inability to put together anything resembling consistent form. Will the Alex add to those woes or prove a nice remedy as they so often do?

Lethargy

How much will Tuesday's fixtures play a part in this game? Whilst Chesterfield were wrapping up their home game with Colchester by 10pm and were probably in bed by 11/12 at the latest, the Alex on the other hand weren't getting back in to Crewe until 2am on Wednesday morning. They've then made the trip east on Friday, meaning in the space of a few days they'll have travelled almost 500 miles. That's a lot and it could lead to some groggy performances. Using the bench wisely will be important you feel.

Response

For the first time this season, we get to ask about the Alex's response to a league defeat. Whilst I don't think the performance at Exeter was too bad given the circumstances, they do still need to improve on that display. They also could do with responding and getting a result from this game, because they don't want to be going into the Barnet game off the back of 2 straight defeats, not if they can help it. Because lose this game and lose against Barnet and they will go into the cup break off the back of 3 league losses. Not ideal.

Referee Watch

William Davis

Another new name for the Alex, he's only stepping up into the EFL for the first time this season. Let's hope he's better than the clown on Tuesday.

2026-27 Record: 7 games(2 League One, 4 League Two, 1 National League, 23 yellows

Last Game: Rotherham United 1-4 Gillingham, League Two, Saturday 10th October 2026, 5 yellows

Crewe Alex Record: N/A

Injuries/Absences

Chesterfield

Malik Owolabi-Belewu, Kyle McFadzean, Luke Butterfield, Ruel Sotriou and Will Dickson missed out on Tuesday, but most of their better players seem fit and good to go.

Crewe Alex

'Checks' will be done on Conor Thomas and Mickey Demetriou. Neither would have started this game anyway, so in some ways I'm not too fussed if they are out. Hopefully the other players with 'bumps and bruises' will be fit to play.

Team

I doubt Bell goes experimental mode, but I'm wanting to see how Kyle Ure does in a deeper lying midfield role. It's a lot to ask at the age of 20 and when you're lacking experience, but why not give it a shot? He goes into the number 6 role and that allows Lunt and Holicek to move further forward. Gibson and Tabiner continue on the wings, but Joe White drops out due to his poor all round form.

Reece Hutchinson is an easy recall at LB and he operates alongside the usual 3 of Stephenson, Offord and Billington. Josh March goes again up front.

Score Prediction

I'm predicting the Alex to come up short in this one unfortunately. Hopefully I'm wrong, as aside from that home shocker in 24-25 and last season's defeat where they were already on the beach, the Alex's record against Chesterfield is not too bad. But I do worry that Chesterfield are due a win and this will be where they get it.

Chesterfield 3-1 Crewe Alex