Crystal Palace, Liverpool Community Shield clash to set the tone for EPL new season
Preview
The 2025/26 English Premier League season kicks off this Sunday with Crystal Palace taking on Liverpool at Wembley Stadium in the Community Shield. Both teams will be eager to claim the first trophy of the campaign and gain an early boost.
According to simulations by the Opta supercomputer, Liverpool have a 54.9 percent chance of winning in regular time. This will be Crystal Palace’s first appearance in the Community Shield, following their historic FA Cup victory in May.
In recent years, when the Shield has featured the Premier League champions against the FA Cup winners, the cup holders have been very successful, winning seven of the last nine matches. Liverpool enter this game as reigning league champions, having secured their record-equalling 20th top-flight title last season. This will be their fourth appearance in the competition in seven years. They won the Shield in 2022 by defeating Manchester City but lost on penalties in 2019 and 2020.
Crystal Palace are newcomers to this stage, and history suggests that first-time participants often find it difficult to win the Shield. Notably, two previous debutants lost to Liverpool in 1976 and 1988.
Liverpool’s only clear Shield win as league champions in recent decades was against Wimbledon in 1988. FA Cup winners generally have a strong record in the match, although last season league champions Manchester City beat cup winners Manchester United on penalties.
Interestingly, this will be the first Community Shield since 1989 where the same two teams also met in the final league match of the previous season. Back then, Liverpool secured a narrow win over Arsenal in the decisive fixture of the 1988/89 campaign.
Liverpool lost to Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final at Wembley earlier this year and will want to avoid a second defeat at the national stadium in the same calendar year—something that has never happened to them before.
Crystal Palace have performed well at Wembley in recent years. Since the stadium reopened in 2007, they have won four of their six matches there, with the only defeats coming against Manchester United in the 2016 FA Cup final and Chelsea in the 2022 FA Cup semi-final.
Team News and Lineups
Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has made just two summer signings: Borna Sosa from Ajax and goalkeeper Walter Benítez from PSV. Importantly, Palace have retained key players such as Eberechi Eze, who scored the winning goal in the FA Cup final and has been directly involved in 12 goals in his last 13 appearances across all competitions.
Glasner confirmed that Eddie Nketiah will be sidelined for another eight weeks, while Matheus França and young prospect Caleb Kporha are also unavailable.
Liverpool have strengthened their squad with Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz, both from Bayer Leverkusen, who are expected to start. Milos Kerkez and Hugo Ekitiké might also be included in the starting lineup.
Mohamed Salah had an outstanding season last year with 57 goal contributions in 52 games. However, he has struggled at Wembley recently, with no goals or assists in his last seven appearances at the stadium.
Ryan Gravenberch will be available for selection despite receiving a red card in the league meeting between these teams in May, as his suspension only applies to league matches.
Liverpool are likely to be without Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez due to injury. Alisson is available after returning from a family emergency that forced him to leave the club’s Asia tour.
Head-to-Head Record
This will be the first meeting between Crystal Palace and Liverpool at Wembley. Palace have only beaten Liverpool once in their last 16 meetings across all competitions—a 1-0 win at Anfield in April 2024. Last season, Liverpool won 1-0 at Selhurst Park, and the return fixture ended in a 1-1 draw before the Reds lifted the Premier League trophy.
Prediction
The Opta supercomputer favours Liverpool to win the Community Shield in regular time in over half of the simulations. Crystal Palace win in 90 minutes in approximately 22.5 percent of simulations, while 22.7 percent predict the match will be decided by penalties.
Likely Starting Lineups
Crystal Palace: Dean Henderson; Chris Richards, Maxence Lacroix, Marc Guéhi, Daniel Muñoz; Tyrick Mitchell, Adam Wharton, Daichi Kamada; Ismaïla Sarr, Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta
Manager: Oliver Glasner
Liverpool: Alisson; Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konaté, Virgil van Dijk, Milos Kerkez; Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz; Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo, Hugo Ekitiké
Manager: Arne Slot
This eagerly awaited clash promises excitement as both teams aim to start their seasons on a high note by winning the Community Shield.
