City went down 4-3 to the Eagles in a topsy-turvy encounter at Platt Lane on Good Friday - a match where the Blues had held 2-0 and 3-2 advantages.
Two wonder goals from Kadell Daniel and Kwesi Appiah turned that game on its head, meaning that after a bright start to the calendar year, City EDS are on a run of four games without a win.
That was Palace’s first win of Phase 2 of the Barclays U21 Premier League, closing the gap between the teams to just three points.
With just one qualification spot up from grabs from National Group 2, it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the Blues will be competing in the knock-out rounds this season with Reading running away with the group.
Attilio Lombardo’s men will be bolstered by the returns of Jose Angel Pozo, Olivier Ntcham and Mathias Bossaerts, who have all returned from representing their nations in the under-17 Euro Elite qualifiers.
It marks the second return of Attilio Lombardo to the club where he made 43 appearances in the late nineties.
Lombardo was given a hero’s reception when City contested a 1-1 draw there on 1 October.
Kick-off at Tooting and Mitcham FC (SM4 6BF) is at 7pm – we’ll bring you a match report after full-time.