A full Football League programme returns this weekend, when the Iron visit Chesterfield.
The international break saw many of last weekend’s fixtures disrupted and Russ Wilcox’s men will be looking to return to winning ways, after losing at Bristol City, one of the league’s favourites.We travel to the Proact Stadium to play the Spireites, who were promoted with us from Sky Bet League Two last year. They were the only team to finish above the Iron in the division in 2013/14, as they won on the final day of the campaign to finish three points clear at the league’s summit.
Bobby Olejnik should continue in goal all being well, with James Severn and Sam Slocombe still sidelined.
Luke O’Neill continues to be a doubt, after returning to parent club Burnley for his injury to be assessed and Miles Addison is a definite absence, having returned to Bournemouth with a longer-term problem.
Russ Wilcox expects to have no new concerns for the Sky Bet League One clash, with Deon Burton, Dave Syers, David Mirfin and the two goalkeepers continuing to be sidelined.
The likes of Terry Hawkridge, Jennison Myrie-Williams, Matt Sparrow, Billy Kee and Lyle Taylor were given runs out in the reserves’ midweek win at Doncaster and Wilcox may want to involve some of those as he looks for a response from the Ashton Gate loss.
Wilcox told the Iron Player this week that he expects another difficult encounter: “It will be a tough game. We’ve played each other three times over the last 12 month period, all tight games, all good games and all good footballing games. Both teams try to get the ball down and play.”
The meeting in Derbyshire represents the second between the clubs in less than two weeks, having played them at Glanford Park on September 2.
It was a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy clash and goals from Gary McSheffrey, against his former club, and Sean McAllister helped us advance into the next round with a 2-0 victory.
They were a much-changed team from their previous fixtures, so expect an even closer match this weekend.
The previous two meetings in the league last season saw us draw 1-1 on both occasions.
Luke Waterfall’s late header at the Proact Stadium salvaged a point last November and Sam Winnall’s opening strike was cancelled out by a Eoin Doyle penalty at Glanford Park.
In total, Scunthorpe have won in 17 meetings, drawn 15 matches and lost 22 times.
Managed by Paul Cook, Chesterfield have adjusted well to life back in the division. They have not played since our meeting last Tuesday evening but they have ten league points on the board from their opening five games, sitting in fifth.
So far, they have won on the road at Leyton Orient, lost to Huddersfield in the Capital One Cup, beat Rochdale and lost to MK Dons before winning against Port Vale.
The distance for Iron fans to travel from Scunthorpe is around an hour’s journey, just past Sheffield and into Derbyshire, and it is the current home of former Irons: Jimmy Ryan, current PFA Chairman Ritchie Humphreys and Drew Talbot.
With the Iron going into the match confident of getting another win over the Spireites, and the home side having rested for over ten days, the Saturday clash promises to be another tight affair.
If you can’t make it to the Proact, keep track of the action by tuning into the club’s official social media channels or keep an eye on events on the website, with live updates available from kick-off.
See our betting preview for the league’s official sponsor’s betting markets for the game.