PREVIEW | Chesterfield vs Walsall - team news, lineups, predictions

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·9 May 2025

PREVIEW | Chesterfield vs Walsall - team news, lineups, predictions

Chesterfield and Walsall go head-to-head at SMH Group Stadium this Sunday in the first leg of the two sides' EFL League Two play-off semi-final. The match will be broadcast live at 15:30 on Sky Sports Football.

The Spireites completed a late surge into the playoffs with a 0-1 win against Accrington Stanley in the final matchweek, while Walsall won 0-1 at Crewe Alexandra but saw their automatic promotion hopes go up in smoke after Bradford sealed a dramatic victory over Fleetwood.

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In their previous league meetings this season, Walsall are unbeaten - the Saddlers securing a 2-2 draw at Chesterfield before beating the Spireites 3-1 on home soil in February.

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Bescot Banter (Bescot Banter): After going an excruciating thirteen games without a win, the Saddlers were finally able to secure that all-important combination of a clean sheet and a goal at the other end when they squeezed past Crewe Alexandra last weekend.

Kicking-off the game with just a small chance of securing automatic promotion, the team entered a much improved performance at the Mornflake Stadium. Although some individuals could have done better, the overall display was a good one.

But sadly, the story doesn't end at a first win in fourteen, as promotion rivals Bradford City struck a goal of their own deep into stoppage time of their match against Fleetwood Town and jumped back into third place, and are now fully-fledged members of League One.

The shock and disappointment of the Bantams' late goal will be felt for some time, many of the players looked visibly broken, and it's up to Mat Sadler and his backroom team to help them through the pain and be ready for Sunday's trip to the SMH Group Stadium.

As for the match itself, it'll no doubt be a nervy affair, with a lot riding on it for both teams. At this stage, all we can hope for is a performance that doesn't result in an overly comfortable lead for the Spireites, giving the team something to play for at the Bescot.

Looking at how we'll line up, it's difficult to know how the gaffer will see the game. Will he want to protect a draw, hoping to make the most of home advantage next Friday, or will he look to try to blow the opposition out of the water at the first opportunity?

Of course desire and destiny are two different things and, as can be seen by just the shortest of glances at the League Two form guide will tell you, it may not matter who features in the team, as wins have been as rare as hen's teeth over the last few months.

Prediction: 1-1

SpireitesWrite: It felt borderline impossible that Chesterfield would even be taking part in the playoffs over the Christmas period, when at one stage we had 14 first team players out and were sitting in the bottom half.

Paul Cook has since done a trademark masterclass in January recruitment, bolstering the ranks with the likes of Kyle McFadzean, an experienced operator at a much higher level than this, on a free; Dylan Duffy, a young up and coming winger from Lincoln, and Michael Olakigbe, Jack Sparkes and Bim Pepple on loan.

Coupled with the likes of Everton loanee Jenson Metcalfe, marksman Will Grigg, and brick wall Ashley Palmer, hitting form, and John Fleck (a man who needs no introduction) finally being able to be deployed in the midfield after a frustrating first two-thirds of the season, the Spireites now have a wealth of experience and nous throughout the squad, which has seen us be the form side in League Two over the last two months of the 24/25 campaign.

Before the season started, I would have been happy with a top half finish; suffice to say I'm delighted with a playoff bout in our first season back in the EFL since 2018. In terms of the game itself, Walsall will be feeling aggrieved to have not already had promotion wrapped up; although it has to be said they only have themselves to blame, being 15 points clear of their final finish of 4th at their apex.

Psychologically it is hard to gauge what impact that will have on them in this tie, but one thing Paul Cook and his squad will never do, is underestimate their opponents. They're direct, physical, and have a massive threat from set pieces (as we learned to our detriment in the away fixture at Bescot).

Contrast that to the Blues' keep ball approach, and we're set for a fascinating tie. COYB!