It's the traditional start to the English football season, and this year, it's an exciting one: Crystal Palace vs. Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley!
This is a huge moment for Crystal Palace, who are making their very first appearance in the Community Shield. They're here because they finally won a major trophy—their first ever, in fact—by taking home the FA Cup last season. Liverpool, on the other hand, cruised to a Premier League title victory.
Palace's FA Cup win was a real storybook ending, as they defied the odds to beat Manchester City and end a 120-year wait for a major honor. They seem to love playing at Wembley, with that being their fourth win in six trips there in neutral matches. While it's true that the last four teams making their Community Shield debut have lost, a promising stat for Palace is that seven of the last nine winners were also the FA Cup holders.
The team has high hopes for the season ahead and is predicted to improve on last season's 12th-place finish. They might even have European football to look forward to, though it's still unclear which competition they'll be in. They're appealing against being demoted to the Conference League, hoping instead to go straight into the Europa League.
As for their preseason, they wrapped things up with a split result against Augsburg. The first team won 3-1, but the reserve squad lost 1-0. Next up is this clash with Liverpool, who have dominated their head-to-head matchups, winning 12 of the last 16. However, Palace has been much more competitive in cup competitions, losing only two of the last six encounters.
This is Liverpool's 25th Community Shield appearance, and they'll be aiming for their 17th win (they've shared five). After losing the EFL Cup final at Wembley back in March, they'll want a better result here. It's a good omen for them that they've never lost twice at Wembley in the same year. Despite their success, they've only won the Community Shield once since 2006.
Liverpool, under new manager Arne Slot, finished their preseason with an impressive double-header against Athletic Bilbao, with the first team winning 3-2 and the B team winning 4-1. They've also beaten Preston North End and Yokohama F Marinos, but they've yet to keep a clean sheet in any of their five friendly matches. The Premier League season will kick off for them at Anfield against Bournemouth, and they're favorites to defend their title.
For Palace, a few key players are back from injury, including Adam Wharton, Marc Guehi, and Nathaniel Clyne. However, Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure are out. New signings Borna Sosa and Walter Benitez will likely start on the bench, with Tyrick Mitchell and Dean Henderson preferred. The only real question mark is in central midfield, where Daichi Kamada, Jefferson Lerma, or Will Hughes will partner with Wharton.
Liverpool's new big-money signings have all seen some preseason action, and the starting lineup will likely look similar to the one that played in their second friendly against Bilbao. There are some concerns in defense, with Virgil van Dijk not at 100% and Wataru Endo and Andy Robertson having to fill in at center-back. With goalkeeper Alisson also a doubt, Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to start after getting plenty of preseason minutes.
