Each year, the FA Community Shield officially kicks off the English football season. On Sunday, Liverpool and Crystal Palace will face off at London’s famed Wembley Stadium in the 2025 edition of the Community Shield. Liverpool qualified for Sunday’s match by winning the Premier League last season. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace claimed their spot by winning the FA Cup for the first time, which was also their first-ever major trophy.
So, this marks Palace’s debut in the FA Community Shield and Oliver Glasner’s side will be fired up. Liverpool, -165 favorites, last won the Community Shield three years ago. Ahead of Sunday’s match, we’ll preview the match and discuss the best soccer bet.
FA Community Shield: Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Head-to-Head
Recent matches between Liverpool and Crystal Palace have been hotly contested. Granted, their last meeting was after Liverpool had already clinched the 2024-25 Premier League title. The two sides drew 1-1 at Anfield on the final matchday of the season.
Liverpool picked up a narrow 1-0 win at Selhurst Park in the reverse fixture, as the late Diogo Jota scored the Reds’ winner. However, Palace took down Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield, in 2024. Oliver Glasner is 1-1-1 against Liverpool as the Eagles’ manager.
Three of the last six fixtures between these two teams have finished in draws. However, Crystal Palace have only beaten Liverpool once in the last 16 meetings.
Salah and Wirtz: Liverpool’s New Attacking Duo
Liverpool won the Premier League last season with four games to spare. They’re also 2025-26 Premier League favorites after a busy summer transfer window. Their business might not be over yet. If Liverpool manage to get a deal over the line for Newcastle’s Alexander Isak it likely will be after the FA Community Shield, though.
The Reds’ marquee signing of the summer was attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz, now the most expensive German footballer in history. Wirtz was an absolutely vital piece in Bayer Leverkusen’s undefeated 2023-24 Bundesliga campaign. So too was right wingback Jeremie Frimpong, who also joined Liverpool this summer.
Frimpong and Conor Bradley will compete for the right back position, after club legend Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure to Real Madrid. Luis Diaz also joined Bayern Munich and Darwin Nuñez looks to be on his way to Saudi Arabia. All the while, versatile attacker Diogo Jota tragically passed away last month.
Liverpool have also signed left back Milos Kerkez and striker Hugo Ekitike this summer. Talented backup goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili has finally linked up with the squad after spending last season on loan at Valencia.
Teenager Rio Ngumoha has seriously impressed during preseason and could feature on Sunday. The attacking midfielder is an excellent dribbler.
Mohamed Salah is still one of the world’s best players. The Egyptian winger won the Premier League Player of the Season Award and the Golden Boot in 2024-25. He and captain Virgil van Dijk recently renewed their contracts to stay at Anfield for two more seasons.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool are well-balanced and have no glaring weaknesses. They are coming off two wins over Athletic Club on Monday as Cody Gakpo scored twice in the 3-2 win in the “first team” match.
Slow Summer Could Work in Palace’s Favor on Sunday
The greatest day in Crystal Palace’s history was on May 17th, 2025 when they stunned Manchester City in a historic FA Cup victory. Daniel Muñoz found Eberechi Eze for the only goal of the match. Later, Palace keeper Dean Henderson made a crucial double save on a penalty to seal the win.
However, things have gone downhill since then. Crystal Palace were demoted to the UEFA Europa Conference League, from the Europa League, due to a breach of multi-club ownership rules. That prompted Jon Textor to sell his shares in Crystal Palace. The case is currently being appealed.
Crystal Palace have spent very little on new players this summer given the change in ownership. Left back Borna Sosa joined from Ajax for £2m while goalkeeper Walter Benitez joined on a free transfer. Manager Oliver Glasner, is not happy about the (lack of) activity. Glasner said:
Even though all the players are still here, we haven’t made the most of the transfer window so far. I was promised that we would be more active and bring in the new players earlier this year.
As of now, I have 17 outfield players! I hope we don’t lose any more. If that happens and we get four new ones on deadline day like last year, another false start is possible.
Players like Marc Guehi and Eze could also leave later on in the summer. Still, all indications point to them playing on Sunday. Although the squad is hardly better than last season’s, Crystal Palace’s continuity could end up working in their favor.
Glasner has all of his key players back from last season. Plus, he’s only lost one of his three previous matches against Liverpool.
FA Community Shield: Team News
When these teams met on the final day of the season, Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch picked up a straight red card. Regardless, he’s available to play on Sunday. He’ll serve his suspension during next Friday’s Premier League opener.
Gravenberch, along with Virgil van Dijk (illness) and Alisson (personal) will likely all play. Meanwhile, defenders Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley are dealing with injuries. Don’t be surprised if both of them miss the match on Sunday.
For Crystal Palace, both Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure are likely absentees.
FA Community Shield Analysis, Best Bet
Bettors should monitor Van Dijk’s status before the match. Still, he should be able to play and his presence bolster Liverpool’s defense. In the event that he’s not available, it would be a major boost for Crystal Palace. Wataru Endo would likely have to slot in next to Ibrahima Konate in Liverpool’s defense.
The same Crystal Palace side that beat Augsburg 3-1 last Friday, in a friendly, could line up on Sunday. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored twice in that match. The big Frenchman found the net 14 times in the Premier League last season. He’ll be able to physically bully Endo if VVD can’t suit up.
Four of the last six FA Community Shield matches have finished in 1-1 draws, including two of Liverpool’s last three appearances in the match. Liverpool vs Crystal Palace has also been a low-scoring fixture in recent years. The last six matches have finished with just nine goals total.
Given only one of the last six matches between these teams has finished with more than two goals, we think Under 2.5 Goals (+107) is a strong value bet. A Draw (+322) isn’t a bad pick either.
Top Soccer Bet: Under 2.5 Goals
