U21s Preview: Palace v Birmingham

Academy

5 Oct 2025

Crystal Palace Under-21s welcome Premier League 2 newcomers Birmingham City to the VBS for a league clash under the lights on Monday (3rd October, 19:00 BST) - here's the lowdown!

Tickets for the game can be purchased by clicking here and will be sent at the point of sale as PDF print-at-home tickets.

Can't attend? This game will also be streamed LIVE on Palace TV+ on Monday evening (19:00 BST) - click HERE to learn more about Palace TV+ and subscribe today!

Eagle-Eyed Review

Palace U21s had their unbeaten streak in Premier League 2 ended by Manchester United last time out at Salford’s Peninsula Stadium.

Consequently, the young Eagles languish 17th on seven points – the summit of the league's play-off positions – following a loss, draw, and two wins.

In a change for 2025/26, the eight Premier League 2 teams finishing in positions from 17th to 24th will go into a new, cross-category play-off competition with the top eight teams from the Professional Development League (Category 2).

This will also consist of a round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final, similar to the elimination play-offs that the top 16 teams of Premier League 2 qualify for.

Darren Powell’s side are back under the lights at Sutton on Monday, where there will be hopes that the momentum garnered from that dramatic 3-2 victory over Leeds United can be carried forward.

Kaden Rodney opened the scoring after rifling home close-range, before Romain Esse’s low drive found the near corner and doubled our lead.

Unfortunately, Harvey Vincent halved the deficit on the stroke of half-time, and Jacob Render looked to have earned Leeds a point seven minutes from time. Browne’s last-gasp header, however, sealed the narrow victory.

Birmingham City

Birmingham City are currently enjoying a return to Premier League 2 after securing Category One status in May.

Indeed, the Blues have been a Cat One Academy before, but it was revoked in 2022 after a solitary campaign.

The club’s recent relegation from the Championship was thought to be significantly damaging to hopes of re-applying for Cat One. That said, a key week-long visit by the Professional Game Academy Audit in February ensued a remarkable and rapid transformation.

While there were improvements in staffing levels, it was the massive revamp of the infrastructure at the Knighthead Performance Centre that was turning heads. Upgraded pitches, new gyms, recovery areas, and analyst sweats were all installed – for the first time, the players were able to take to the pitch in the summer and winter.

It would normally take three to five years to seal a successful Cat One application, but the Blues achieved it in just a year – extremely impressive.

In June, Birmingham issued another statement of intent, the appointment of Mark Kennedy as the new U21s Professional Phase Coach.

Kennedy is a highly experienced coach who has held Head Coach and Assistant Head Coach positions within the EFL and has a proven track record of working in top-level academy football after spells with Manchester City, Wolves, and Ipswich Town – more on Kennedy below!

The Blues experienced an underwhelming 2023/24 campaign where they finished eighth – out of 11 teams – in Cat Two’s Professional Development League.

However, 2022/23 was a major success, following a second-place finish that secured qualification for the knockout stages, a semi-final victory over Millwall, and a narrow defeat to Sheffield in the final.

The Blues – much like Powell’s side - have experienced a mixed start to 2025-26, currently sitting towards the summit of the play-off positions in 20th on five points.

Having enjoyed a bright start to the Premier League 2 season, registering an emphatic 3-0 victory over Derby County and two hard-fought draws against Stoke and Newcastle respectively, a 5-1 Premier League Cup defeat to Hull City saw a difficult run of form ensue towards the conclusion of September.

West Ham secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over the Blues, before Fulham almost replicated the scoreline, but could only muster the two-goal advantage – 3-1.

Likely Line-Up

Brad Mayo, Alezandro Da Silva, Jack Quirk, William Burrell (Captain), Zach Willis, Cameron Eubank, Menzi Mazwi, Aurelien Guernier, Daniel Isichei, Briar Bateman, Frank Tattum.

Team News

The Blues have a relatively settled starting XI, with the only source of contention seemingly Brad Mayo or William O’Sullivan between the sticks, and Aurelien Guernier or Frank Tattum out wide.

Pre-Match Analysis

Birmingham enter this fixture ranked 20th in Premier League 2, a position that reflects their inconsistent start to the season. With one win, two draws, and two losses, the team have struggled to build momentum from positive results.

Offensively, they’ve managed to score eight goals, placing them in the bottom half of the league in terms of attacking output. Defensively, they've conceded 10, highlighting ongoing issues at the back.

Away from home, Birmingham have earned three points from three matches – a narrow win over Derby provides their only success on the road.

Key Player

While Briar Bateman has found the net just twice so far this season, he is very much the talisman of Kennedy’s side. The Blues describe him as “an all-action No.9 who presses from the front and scores goals.” He was signed from Shifnal Town's youth side just over three years ago.

The Gaffer

Kennedy’s coaching credentials are underpinned by a successful 20-year playing career that saw him make 565 senior appearances across England’s top two divisions – including 34 caps for the Republic of Ireland.

After hanging up his boots in 2013, Kennedy began his coaching career with Ipswich Town’s academy before spending two years with Manchester City’s youth teams, where he worked with the likes of Tommy Doyle, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, and Cole Palmer.

He is also no stranger to Birmingham City, having been Assistant Head Coach to Lee Bowyer for the 2021/22 season before leaving to take the Head Coach role at Lincoln City in League One, where he achieved the club’s second-highest league finish for more than 40 years.

After his most recent role as Head Coach with League Two side Swindon Town, Kennedy will now lead the Blues development squad ahead of the 2025/26 season.

MATCH DETAILS:

Crystal Palace Under-21s v Birmingham City

Monday, 6th October
19:00 BST
Premier League 2
VBS Community Stadium
Live on Palace TV+
Buy Tickets Here

Ticket Prices:

Adults: £5
Over 65s: £1
Under 18s: £1
Academy Founder Members: Free Of Charge (FOC) 1 per AFM
Personal Assistant: FOC* Booked with ambulant supporter

Tickets will be sent at the point of sale as PDF print-at-home tickets.

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