The 2025 FA Community Shield takes place at Wembley on Sunday afternoon, with Premier League champions Liverpool facing FA Cup winners Crystal Palace. It marks Palace’s first appearance in the competition, while Liverpool are contesting it for the 25th time.
Liverpool arrive off the back of a title-winning campaign in which they collected 84 points, scored in 37 of their 38 league matches, and posted an xPTS of 83.1. Their xG difference (+43.6) was comfortably the best in the division, reflecting balance in attack and defence. Arne Slot’s first summer window has brought in Jeremie Frimpong, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez, and Florian Wirtz. The pre-season schedule produced four wins and one defeat, with 14 goals scored but 10 conceded, suggesting sharpness in the final third but some defensive gaps.
Palace’s 2024/25 season saw them finish 12th with 53 points, posting an xPTS of 57.2. Their xG difference was +11.3, underlining that they were better than their mid-table finish suggested. Oliver Glasner’s side were solid away from home (28 points, +2 goal difference) and their FA Cup run, capped by a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final, showed their ability to frustrate top sides. However, summer business has been quiet with Walter Benítez and Borna Sosa are the only additions.
Both clubs are navigating different challenges with Liverpool aiming to maintain dominance while integrating new signings, Palace looking to carry momentum despite uncertainty around European participation. With Liverpool’s attack firing and Palace’s resilience, Sunday’s match should provide an early test of each team’s sharpness under the Wembley spotlight.
The recent head-to-head record between Liverpool and Crystal Palace shows a mix of high-scoring encounters and tighter affairs. Across the last 20 meetings, 12 have gone over 2.5 goals, giving a 60% strike rate for that line. However, recent seasons have seen a drop in frequency, with only 2 of the last 6 meetings clearing it.
Both teams to score has been less common, landing in just 7 of the last 20 games (35%), and only twice in the last 8. While there have been notable goal-fests in the past, such as Liverpool’s 7-0 and 4-3 wins, the fixture has often tightened in recent years, with several low-scoring matches decided by a single goal.
Predicted line-ups
Crystal Palace (3-4-2-1): Henderson, Richards, Lacroix, Guehi, Munoz, Kamada, Wharton, Mitchell, Sarr, Mateta, Eze.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike.
