They qualified by winning their first major trophy, the FA Cup, last season, beating Manchester City in the final. That victory ended a 120-year wait for silverware and continued Palace’s good run at Wembley, where they have won four of their last six neutral-ground games. Historically, FA Cup winners often do well in the Community Shield, although the last four debut teams have all lost.
Palace are aiming to improve on last season’s 12th-place Premier League finish, and many expect them to qualify for Europe. Whether they play in the Europa League or the Conference League depends on the result of an appeal. They recently finished pre-season with two games against Augsburg in Germany, with the first team winning 3-1 but the reserves losing 1-0.
Liverpool have a lot more experience in this match. They have played in the Community Shield 24 times before and have won it 16 times plus five shared titles. They won the Premier League comfortably last season under new manager Arne Slot, but they have not won the Shield often in recent years, just once since 2006. Liverpool have never lost twice at Wembley in the same year, which is a good sign for them.
Liverpool ended their pre-season with two games against Athletic Bilbao on Monday, with the first team winning 3-2 and the B team winning 4-1. They also beat Preston and Yokohama F. Marinos earlier in the summer, but they have not kept a clean sheet in any of their five warm-up games.
The Premier League season starts next Friday at Anfield, when Liverpool play Bournemouth, with the champions tipped to win the league again.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Adam Wharton, Marc Guehi and Nathaniel Clyne have all returned from injury during preseason for Palace, but Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure will miss the match.Borna Sosa and Walter Benitez are Palace’s only summer signings so far, but both will probably start on the bench. Tyrick Mitchell is expected to play at left wing-back, and Dean Henderson is likely to be in goal.
The only uncertain position is in central midfield, where one of Daichi Kamada, Jefferson Lerma or Will Hughes will partner Wharton. All of Liverpool’s expensive new signings have played in preseason, and their lineup will probably be similar to the one used in their second friendly against Bilbao.
Centre-back is still a concern because Virgil van Dijk is not fully fit. Wataru Endo and Andy Robertson have sometimes filled in alongside Ibrahima Konate during preseason.
With Alisson also a doubt, Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to start in goal after getting plenty of match practice since returning from Valencia.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Wharton, Lerma, Mitchell; Sarr, Mateta, Eze
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Van Dijk, Konate, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike
EXPERT PREDICTION
Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool
Here’s the simplified version:
With the money Liverpool have spent, failing to win the Community Shield with a full-strength team would raise concerns, but they are expected to win.
Palace have already enjoyed two big wins at Wembley in 2025, and they should not be completely ruled out of causing another upset, though it will be a tough task for Glasner’s side.
