Crystal Palace and Liverpool will face each other in the Community Shield curtain-raiser with the season’s first piece of silverware at stake.
By Graham Ruthven
Early statements
After a landmark 2024/25 campaign for Crystal Palace and Liverpool, Sunday’s Community Shield is an opportunity for both teams to make an early statement.
For Liverpool, the sight of Arne Slot and his players lifting another piece of silverware could hint at another dominant season to come. The Reds strolled to the Premier League title term and have made a number of blockbuster additions over the summer to, in theory, grow even stronger.
Crystal Palace’s summer has been challenging with the Selhurst Park club demoted to the Conference League. The Eagles have also struggled to recruit in the way that was surely hoped for with Borna Sosa the only notable addition.
Liverpool are firm favourites to win at Wembley on Sunday, but Palace have demonstrated their capacity for upsetting the odds against an elite opponent at the national stadium once before.
Key players
Palace’s defence won them the FA Cup final against Manchester City last season and the likes of Dean Henderson, Marc Guéhi, Maxence Lacroix and Chris Richards must find top form to keep Liverpool at arm’s length on Sunday.
Eberechi Eze has been the subject of speculation linking him with Arsenal this summer, but is expected to start for Palace. His dribbling and creativity will be a threat to the Liverpool backline with Jean-Philippe Mateta’s physicality another danger.
Mohamed Salah netted an incredible 29 league goals for Liverpool last season and after penning a new two-year deal to stay at Anfield the Egyptian winger remains the Reds’ greatest threat in the final third.
Florian Wirtz has been signed to play as Liverpool’s new number 10. The German could operate in behind another summer signing, Hugo Ekitike. The young Frenchman is quick, skilful and will give Liverpool a different dimension in and around the box.
Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez could start as Liverpool’s new full back pairing while Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté will make up the rest of the back four.
Team news
Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucouré are long-term absentees for Crystal Palace while Eddie Nketiah will be missing for up to six weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in a pre-season match.
Matheus Franca is also an injury doubt. Otherwise, Oliver Glasner has a fully fit and available squad to choose from.
Van Dijk, Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez will all be assessed before the match for various reasons, but stand a good chance of being cleared to feature. Liverpool’s injury list is generally clear ahead of the start of the season.
Slot faces a number of selection decisions across the pitch. Should Giorgi Mamardashvili start over Alisson Becker having impressed in pre-season? Is Kerkez a better bet at left back than Andy Robertson?
Where does Wirtz fit into the midfield and which deep-lying player should be sacrificed? How will Ekitike be deployed in the attack? These are things Slot will have to consider.
Prediction
Glasner’s team know how to defend and Liverpool may take some time to bed in their shiny new signings but the Reds should have enough attacking options to make the difference: Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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