Palace headed into the clash in strong form, sitting second in the U18 Premier League South after a dominant 8-0 win over Ipswich. Meanwhile, Reading remained winless from their opening four games and sat 12th, following a heavy 4-0 defeat to Brighton last time out. Javier Alonso named an unchanged starting XI, with the only change to the squad seeing Jayden McDonald replace Ajean-Ray Greaves on the bench. Reading looked to disrupt Palace’s rhythm with a few physical challenges, particularly targeting the in-form Benji Casey and Makai Bernard-Ferguson by staying touch tight. However, Palace settled into possession confidently, building well through the thirds with Walker-Smith dictating proceedings from deep.