Crystal Palace Under-21s travel to Rodney Parade on Tuesday, 3rd November, with a place in the EFL Trophy knockout stages at stake. Darren Powell’s side will qualify for the last 32 if they beat Newport County, marking the first time the Academy has progressed beyond the group stage.
The Young Eagles are third in Group E with three points, behind Newport on four and Plymouth Argyle on five. Palace began their campaign with a 2-1 win over Swindon Town, with Caleb Kporha and Seb Williams on target, but a 5-1 defeat by Plymouth has left them needing a result in south Wales. Swindon are bottom without a point and can no longer qualify.
A draw would send the tie to a penalty shootout. Palace would be eliminated if they lost the shootout, while a victory on penalties would move them to five points. That would leave them behind Newport and level with Plymouth, with Palace then requiring Swindon to defeat the Pilgrims by at least seven goals to have a chance of finishing above them.
The fixture comes after Palace’s 5-2 Premier League 2 defeat by Southampton. Powell’s team had previously responded to three consecutive losses by beating Leeds United 4-1, with Adler Nascimento scoring a hat-trick and 16-year-old Nat Kalembo adding a long-range goal. They will now need to reproduce that attacking quality against a Newport side that has conceded only twice in its two group matches.
Newport opened the competition with a 2-0 win over Swindon before drawing 2-2 with Plymouth and losing the resulting shootout. The Exiles’ nine-match unbeaten run ended with a 1-0 defeat by Cheltenham Town last weekend, while striker Shaquille Gwengwe provides a significant threat after scoring six goals in all competitions this season.
The match kicks off at 19:00 GMT and will be available to watch live in the UK on Sky Sports+, the Sky Sports app and NOW. Palace supporters can also follow live commentary through the club’s Academy X page, with a full report and reaction to follow after the final whistle.
