With anticipation building, the young Eagles were put through their paces on the training pitches, as club photographers captured every moment in the lead-up to the knockout encounter.
Palace booked their place in the Fourth Round with an impressive 3-0 victory over Bradford City under the lights at Selhurst Park. On a wet and windy Friday night (5th December), substitute Stuart Oduro proved decisive, emerging from the bench to net a late quick-fire brace and seal progression.
Newcastle secured their spot at the same stage with a commanding 5-2 win over Portsmouth, as Matheos Ferreira’s hat-trick and a brace from Michael Mills underlined the Magpies’ attacking threat in the Third Round.
The hosts boast a strong FA Youth Cup pedigree, having lifted the trophy twice – in 1962 and 1985, the latter featuring future England star Paul Gascoigne. More recently, Newcastle reached the quarter-finals in both 2016/17 and 2020/21, narrowly missing out on further progress on each occasion.
Take a look through the gallery below, featuring the best images from training as the young Eagles fine-tune their preparations for Thursday night’s cup test!
