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Chesterfield v Swindon Town

Fresh off of winning the National League title, Chesterfield are back in the EFL following a six-season stint in non-league football. They play their first EFL match since 2018 on Friday night when Swindon Town make the journey to Derbyshire.

The visitors are under new management in the form of ex-Lincoln City boss Mark Kennedy and he’ll come up against Paul Cook, who is currently in his second managerial spell with the club after returning in February 2022. He is also no stranger to success at this level having twice won the League Two title with Portsmouth in 2016/17 and earlier with his current club in 2013/14.

The bookies are of the opinion the home side could claim back-to-back promotions come the end of the season having been installed as joint-favourites along with MK Dons.

As the EFL makes its long-awaited return, make sure you stick around with Andy’s Bet Club for all of your football betting prediction needs. Whilst you’re here, we have plenty of EFL acca tips, in addition to a wide range of EFL betting tips for you to sink your teeth into.

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While your here, be sure to check out our excellent bet builder stats tool to aid your punting, as well as our cheat sheets, if you want to know more about these, you can learn how to use a cheat sheet here.

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Chesterfield v Swindon Town Best Bets

➡️ Chesterfield to win and over 1.5 goals @ 1.77 with Paddy Power
➡️ Chesterfield race to 6 corners @ 1.72 with Paddy Power

There has been a fair amount of change at Swindon this summer, not just in terms of new signings but a new manager with a different approach has also come on board. It could quite easily take some time for them to adjust but there is so much more in terms of reliability on Chesterfield’s side. They too have made some signings but it has been anything but an overhaul, and we can be assured Cook will again get his team playing in his high-tempo offensive style. Creating chances shouldn’t be an issue for them.

With that being the case, a Chesterfield win and over 1.5 goals at 1.77 with Paddy Power appears a standout bet in this opening-day fixture. This is a team that netted 106 league goals last season, albeit at a lower level.

Another eye-catching bet is to back Chesterfield in the Race to 6 Corners market, which is available at 1.72 with Paddy Power. They will be the team on the front foot here, and Swindon will come under some serious pressure for some long spells.

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📊 Chesterfield Form and Stats

Last season was almost too good to be true for Chesterfield. Getting out of the National League is no easy task, as proved by the fact they spent so many seasons in it. They would stroll to the title with 98 points; which is one of many club records they broke in the process of claiming the top spot.

The Spireites were particularly impressive in front of goal on a count of firing in 106 league goals, which is unsurprisingly another club record, which had been in place since 1930/31. Another record would be the 31 matches they won in a single season.

With goals very much being the name of the game for Chesterfield, considering their league encounters averaged a huge 3.72 goals per game, it is no shock that 1-0 wasn’t a frequent score for them. Out of their 31 league victories, a total of two would be that exact score. Therefore, they are often a good bet to include over 1.5 goals should they indeed win a match, and that formula isn’t expected to change despite promotion.

Home form is also key to any success they are likely to have this season, just as it was in the last. Only Kidderminster Harriers defeated Chesterfield during their title-winning season, and even this happened after they had already been confirmed as champions. Such is the amount of dominance Chesterfield enjoyed in matches in 2023/24, earning corners did not prove too much of a challenge. Overall, they would average 6.41 per league game; ranked only second to Barnet.

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📊 Swindon Town Form and Stats

Swindon would finish 19^th last season in League Two after a two-season run of top-ten finishes at this level. Undoubtedly a major reason for their drop-off was a horrendous defensive record, which saw them ship 83 league goals in 2023/24, a number which only bettered that of two other clubs. However, they would still score 77 goals, a figure that eight of the 12 top-half teams failed to do.

Another area of concern that Kennedy will look to improve upon is Swindon’s fortunes away from home. It was ranked 24 out of 24 in League Two last season having only returned 16 points and three wins on their travels. Losing in ten of the 12 league away assignments when conceding the opening goal highlights the importance of scoring first.

Since dropping into League Two, Swindon have a mixed record in relation to results in their opening match of the season. It has been a case of one win, one draw and one defeat over the last three seasons, but the one constant in them all was seeing a minimum of three goals each time. Interestingly, a total of three penalties was also awarded across the three contests.

Much like the case for Chesterfield in the National League, Swindon in League Two last year was often a combination for goals, and lots of them. So much so that the Robins topped the respective League Two both teams to score tally, meaning goals for and against would regularly flow.

Kennedy has no doubt been hired to improve their defensive output. During his 73-game stint as Lincoln manager, they only conceded an average of approximately 1.15 goals per game, and if Town had that average last season they’d likely have pushed for promotion.

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⚔️ Chesterfield v Swindon Town Head-to-Head

Friday’s battle will be the first time in just over six years that Chesterfield and Swindon will go head-to-head. Between the time sequences of 2001-2006 and 2014-18, this would be a much more regular renewal in more recent times. For what it is worth, Swindon edges the historical H2H tally with 24 wins compared to 19 defeats; eight resulted in draws.

The most recent encounter in February 2018 went the way of Chesterfield, meaning they are currently on a four-match unbeaten streak in this particular battle; four of which resulted in wins.

Despite the years advancing significantly, this meeting has often remained a high-scoring affair. In fact, six of the last eight matches have contained over 2.5 goals and yet there has only been a straight 50/50 split in that sequence in terms of both teams scoring.

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* We recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.

* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.

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