As domestic football returns it’s another big weekend for Palace’s Academy sides, with two huge fixtures for the young Eagles to look forward to.
Paddy McCarthy’s Under-23s side travel to Brighton to take on their rivals as they bid to follow up victory over Tottenham Hotspur with success on the road. Meanwhile, the Under-18s welcome Manchester City to south London, as their Premier League Cup campaign continues.
Get all the key details about both of Saturday’s games below!
It has been a whirlwind start to life in the top division for Palace’s Under-23s, after their promotion via the play-offs at the first time of asking last season.
After a tough opening against Leeds and Arsenal, Palace registered their first victories of the campaign against Everton and Leicester – the latter an impressive performance away from home, scoring six times, with David Omilabu, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Rob Street each getting a brace.
With struggles on the road against Man City and West Ham slowing their momentum, they got back to winning ways in a seven-goal thriller against Spurs. After the visitors recovered from going three goals down, Scott Banks’ stunning free-kick was enough to get Palace over the line.
Brighton have started the season brightly, winning three of their first four games to sit fourth in the table, four points clear of Palace. However, their form has suffered recently, with defeats to Manchester United and Arsenal in recent games.
Should Palace win, they can rise as high as fourth depending on other results. Brighton’s job will be to try and stop the Eagles’ goal-hungry attackers, with Street having scored six in his last five games and Rak-Sakyi five in the same period.
Keep up to date with the latest scores via Palace’s official Twitter page, or on the Palace app.
After coming so close to the title last season, missing out on goal-difference in their first season at Category 1 level, the Under-18s have made a strong start once again under new coach Rob Quinn.
Victor Akinwale has been the focal point so far, scoring six times in as many games and taking Palace to third, just a point off the lead.
Much like last season, there has been no shortage of drama for fans of the Academy side, their last outing against Reading producing a six-goal thriller in which the Royals’ 95th minute strike was cancelled out by Junior Dixon’s 96th minute equaliser.
Manchester City pose perhaps the biggest challenge in youth football, winning the title for the last two seasons on the bounce and scoring six in their last fixture against Derby County.
After losing their Premier League Cup opener at Liverpool, Palace will look to make home advantage count and get some points on the board, with Aston Villa the other challenge in a tough group stage draw.
The match will be streamed LIVE on Palace TV+, which you can access by subscribing HERE.
