The reigning Premier League champions Liverpool will face off with FA Cup winners Crystal Palace in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium later this afternoon, Sunday, August 10, at 3 pm.
The Community Shield is traditionally contested between the previous season’s league and FA Cup winners, which is the curtain opener for the new Premier League season.
However, when both teams meet, it will be a battle of football style and tactics between Liverpool’s heavy metal football and Crystal Palace’s vertical play.
The match is also a test for Liverpool’s preparedness before opening the defence of their domestic crown at home to Bournemouth five days later.
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Arne Slot, Liverpool manager, said the Community Shield offers Merseyside the chance of winning something at the start of the season.
“Now we have a chance to win something at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, we face a very good Crystal Palace that has been very difficult to win against for us, because we played 1-1 against them in the last game of the season,” Slot said at a press conference ahead of today’s FA Community Shield.
According to Slot, Palace’s ability to keep their squad together from last season will make it a difficult team to play against.
“They showed in the last final – and even in the semi-final, by the way, as well – how difficult it is to win a one-off game [against] them.”
Crystal Palace is known for quickly playing progressive vertical passes after winning back possession.
Palace could look to elicit defensive errors, which create opportunities for chances.
Defensively, Crystal Palace must trust themselves more now, after recording the fewest errors leading to shots in the Premier League.
Oliver Glasner’s squad have spent this summer in Austria instead of repeating the 2024 tour of the USA.
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“We’ve had a good summer, but in football – and not just in football but in life, also – the past is gone. We have great memories that will stay with us forever, but that won’t help us when the new season begins,” Glasner said.
They are also closer to full strength than they were 12 months ago, with the exception of Eddie Nketiah, who has suffered a hamstring injury after finding his feet at Selhurst Park during the closing stages of last season.
If Palace hit the ground running and replicate their form from the second half of the last two seasons, then their FA Cup triumph could be the start of their journey, rather than the end.
“Now is not the time to lie back and say, great, we are the Cup winners. It’s about defining new goals for us and aim to have a better season than we did last season.”
