Crewe Alex v Chesterfield 25-26 Preview - Exorcising Demons

You know what, I kind of get why Lee Bell was so scarred by the 5-0 home defeat to Chesterfield at the start of last season. Because the first thing I did when this season's fixtures came out was circle this very game and look at it with a feeling of dread. That hammering last August left a mark on me that has been hard to shake, given just how bad it was. 5-0 and in truth, it could have been more, were it not for Chesterfield taking their foot off the gas in the 2nd half. It was a horrific afternoon.

But the beauty about football is, you always have the chance to make amends and 15 months on from that defeat, the Alex can exercise a few demons by getting a result here. This is my preview of the visit of the Spireites to Gresty Road:

Misleading...but maybe not

It's funny, because I looked at Chesterfield's form going into this game and thought they weren't doing so well. After all, a 7-6-3 record after 16 games is slightly underwhelming for a side tipped to push for the title.

But then you realise they are actually 5 points better off this season than they were last season after 16 games, with 27 compared to last season's 22. We forget that for the most part last season they were very inconsistent and were 16th after 33 games. It wasn't until the final run in that they locked in and surged to a late top 7 spot.

All that being said though, their performances and underlying numbers this season don't paint a great picture. No side has overperformed their xG more than Chesterfield, who have 28 goals from just 18.2 xG. They are 18th in that category, 14th in shots on target per game and 15th in big chances. At the other end, they are 12th in xG against and 12th in shots on target against. They are 10 places higher than the xG tables says they should be, the largest margin in L2.

Still Dangerous

That being said, they are still a quality team with dangermen throughout. We saw Berry and Markanday rip the Alex apart 15 months ago. Around them in Bonis, Darcy, Mandeville, Dunkley, McFadzean, Stirk, Naylor and Lewis are quality players I would happily take at the Alex if offered. They might have defensive issues, but they are an attack minded team who can hurt you in a variety of different ways from multiple different sources. This could be another Swindon if the Alex don't turn up with the right plan.

Attack is the best form of defence

You can almost see the cogs turning in Bell's brain. He will be thinking that when the Alex started a 4-2-3-1 at home against Chesterfield last season, they got picked off at will. So he be tempted to change it to avoid those same holes being carved open. But I would argue he shouldn't change anything for several reasons.

The first is that this teams attack looks at its best when playing the 4-2-3-1. It might not always work, but they've scored their goals playing that system. Yes, it leaves them a bit open defensively, but changing things to combat the opposition against Bromley didn't work, so why try it here?

The 2nd is that as mentioned, this Chesterfield team isn't the same one that they faced in August 2024. That side, fresh off the back of promotion to League Two, they carried a spring in their step, confidence and lack of real expectation which arguably isn't there any more. They have injuries, problems at the back and have shown to have a weak underbelly when pressed. Is the tag of title/automatic favourites weighing on them?

I hope Bell doesn't panic and go into his shell to try and stop them and instead tries to fight fire with fire. Attack, in this case, really is the best form of defence in my opinion.

Remember...and rectify

The Alex have a few players in their squad that were part of that 5-0 defeat. Connolly, Demetriou, Holicek, Thomas and Sanders all started, whilst Billington was on the bench. I hope those players remember that horrible day and rather than letting it put the fear into them, they use it as a motivation to go out there and rectify it in this game.

A win here would allow both them and Bell to exorcise the demons that arguably sunk their season in 24-25. They can also use it to springboard into a run of 9 of their next 10 being against sides currently outside the top 10. A result here would be huge as they approach December and the festive fixture build up.

Ref Watch

David Rock

I'm not sure if Rock will ever be able to shake the 19-20 home game against Cambridge, but in the 3 Alex games he's reffed since then, he's been mostly fine. So perhaps it's time to let bygones be bygones.

2025-26 Record: 17 games(7 League One, 5 League Two, 2 EFL Cup, 1 EFL Trophy, 1 National League, 1 FA Cup), 77 yellows, 2 reds

Last Game: Lincoln City 2-1 Doncaster Rovers, EFL League One, 15th November 2025, 5 yellows

Crewe Alex Record: 2-2-1, 6 yellows, 1 red

Injuries/Absences

Crewe Alex

There was no positive news from the treatment room, as Omar Bogle is out for several weeks(shocker) and none of Jack Lankester, Josh March or Jack Powell are coming back from injury. So it'll be the same squad as last week, except for Calum Agius who is available after completing international duty.

Chesterfield

The Spirerites will be missing Armando Dobra, who is out long term. Also absent in recent weeks have been Will Grigg, Ryan Stirk and Adam Lewis, but all 3 have a chance to be back for this game it seems.

Team

Same again I think. I'm concerned about the matchups in a few areas, but I feel better about the full back duo of Lewis Billington and Reece Hutchinson than I did about Ryan Cooney and Zac Williams last season. Thomas and Sanders start again in midfield but I would be asking Owen Lunt to drop slightly deeper and cover the gaps. I'd also be asking O'Reilly and Holicek to ensure they protect their full backs and double up on Markanday and Berry.

Upfront I'm hoping for a busy performance from Tezgel and it'll once again be a rather thin bench, with only Moult, Agius and Rankine to turn to should they need to switch things up.

Score Prediction

I'm a bit worried. I think the Alex can definitely cause Chesterfield problems, but their defensive structure does make me nervous. If Chesterfield turn up in the mood, then this could be a similar result to the one 15 months ago. But then, the Alex are unbeaten in 3 in the league and have trailed for 21 minutes across their last 5 games in all competitions, so they shouldn't be lacking in confidence. Still, at this point given the slate of "easier" home games to come in the next month or two, I'd happily take a draw.

Crewe Alexandra 2-2 Chesterfield