Chesterfield vs Colchester United. Sky Bet League Two.
Proact StadiumAttendance5,537.
Friday 29 December 2017 12:42, UK
Chesterfield could be without Robbie Weir when Colchester visit the Proact Stadium.
Weir was restored to the starting line-up on Boxing Day after a bout of tonsillitis but the midfielder was still clearly feeling the effects of illness and had to be substituted after only 36 minutes against Crewe.
Injuries have left Spireites boss Jack Lester with only three fit first-team defenders and captain Ian Evatt (knee), Laurence Maguire and Bradley Barry (hamstring) will remain unavailable. Joe Anyon, Jordan Sinnott and Gozie Ugwu are also injured as Chesterfield look to halt a three-game losing run.
In-form Colchester will check on a couple of players as boss John McGreal weighs up making changes to a starting XI which has won three out of the last four games. Defender Kane Vincent-Young has been nursing a knee problem so will be assessed, along with Kyel Reid who came off late on at Crawley on Boxing Day.
Forward Kurtis Guthrie has recovered from an ankle operation and made a cameo for the final minutes of the 2-0 win, while sweeper Ryan Inniss has returned to training after a shoulder injury, as has winger Doug Loft. Club captain Luke Prosser, midfielder Courtney Senior and winger Brennan Dickenson are all working their way back from from respective knee problems.
Chesterfield and Colchester have drawn each of the last three matches in the English Football League, most recently on match day seven of this season (1-1) as Brandon Hanlan's late equaliser rescued a point for the U's.
Chesterfield have won just one of their last four home league matches against Colchester (D2 L1), a 6-0 victory back in April 2015; the last time the sides met at the Proact Stadium the Spireites held the U's to a 3-3 draw despite playing 74 minutes with 10 men.
Chesterfield have picked up 14 of their 20 points in League Two this season at home (70%); only Yeovil Town (70.4%) have earned a higher proportion on home soil in the division.
Sammie Szmodics has netted in every game game Colchester have played in December so far (five goals in four games); no other player in League Two has scored more than three goals in the competition this month.
