Community Shield: The First Silverware is Up for Grabs

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool

Liverpool and Crystal Palace are set to come face to face at Wembley Stadium on Sunday as the Premier League curtain-raiser takes centre stage.

The 2025 Community Shield takes place between league champions Liverpool and FA Cup winners Crystal Palace, who sprung a huge surprise when they beat the might of Manchester City in the 2025 FA Cup final. And, while the Community Shield 2025 betting odds strongly back Arne Slot’s Reds to pick up the first piece of silverware of the new season, Oliver Glasner’s Eagles have the tools to unlock any defence.

This is not a friendly and there have been some tasty encounters in the past in this fixture, and I suspect this match will be a little closer than we might expect, as Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues would testify.        

 

Talking Points

Wirtz to take his Liverpool bow

This has been a hectic summer for Liverpool as the champions have seriously strengthened in their attempt to hold off the expected challenges from Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea. The biggest outgoing has been Colombian winger Luis Diaz, who joined Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, while Trent Alexander-Arnold headed off to Real Madrid as soon as the transfer window opened.

Meanwhile the Reds have shelled out over £300 million on incomings, and the man the fans really want to see making the Community Shield 2025 highlights is record signing Florian Wirtz. The attacking midfielder arrived in a £116 million deal from Bayer Leverkusen, and he was quickly followed by his Werkself teammate Jeremie Frimpong, who was bought as a replacement for the departed Trent.

Another new signing, Hugo Ekitike, a €95 million recruit from Eintracht Frankfurt, could be in line for a start at centre forward while, of the old guard, the great Mohamed Salah is sure to feature.

At the other end of the pitch, Alisson Becker is expected to be the last line of defence after recovering from an illness he picked up on the club’s pre-season tour, but another new signing, Giorgi Mamardashvili, bought from Valencia for £29 million is standing by. And Virgil van Dijk is expected to lead the defence at centre-back, while Joe Gomez will take a late fitness test.     

 

Could this be Guehi and Eze’s Palace farewell?

While Liverpool have been stocking up on talent, the Eagles have been quiet so far in the transfer window, and they probably have more concerns around who may leave the club in the coming weeks.

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding the future of club captain and England centre-back Marc Guehi, who has been tracked by Newcastle United and Sunday opponents Liverpool. While the Magpies may now be looking elsewhere, Liverpool have already made two offers for the 25-year-old and are waiting for Palace and the player to crack. Whether Guehi will leave on not remains to be seen, but these are worrying times for the Eagles, as another big star and England man, Eberechi Eze, looks like he may be on the way out, with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in advanced talks.

Take a look back six months or so and Palace were really struggling for consistency at a time when they were on the edge of the relegation scrap, but they pulled away impressively and finished 12^th before landing their first ever major trophy, as Eze scored the winning goal at Wembley.

In May, they were riding the crest of a wave, but now the Eagles look in danger of losing two of their most influential players; and, after seeing Michael Olise head to Bayern Munich 12 months ago, to lose either would be a serious blow.  

We could see a debut for Croatian defender Borna Sosa, bought from Ajax for £3 million, and Argentine goalkeeper Walter Benitez, a free transfer from PSV Eindhoven. Sosa and Benitez are the only two incomings so far, though there is word around Selhurst Park that Glasner may be ready to move for Chelsea’s unwanted winger Raheem Sterling if Eze does say goodbye.     

 

History

Liverpool have a rich history in the Community Shield, formerly known as the Charity shield, and are looking to win the curtain raiser for the 17^th time in 25 attempts and for the first time since 2022.

Meanwhile, the Eagles are appearing for the first time, but they have proud and recent memories of a famous Wembley victory which they will be keen to repeat.  

 

Betting Tip

Palace are at SBOTOP odds of 4.98 to win this Community Shield, while Liverpool are strong favourites at 1.56. But I think, as they often are, this opener will be a close affair as the Eagles will be up to impress, and it may even go to penalties.

   

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