Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace: New kit for Community Shield – all you need to know

The Premier League champions meet the FA Cup winners at Wembley for the Community Shield, a piece of silverware Liverpool have lifted once in 18 years.

Liverpool vs. Crystal Palace

Community Shield | Wembley

August 10, 2025 | 3pm (BST)

The curtain-raiser to the new season sees Liverpool face Crystal Palace in the Community Shield, and while this is the Reds’ 25th appearance in the fixture, it is the Eagles’ first.

There will be tributes to Diogo Jota before kickoff at Wembley, with a minute’s silence expected.

Here is all you need to know ahead of Sunday’s kickoff.

1. Liverpool team news

Liverpool had a 25-man squad in training on Thursday, and the only absentees were Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley as they continue their injury rehabilitation.

Alisson was back involved and he will likely take over from Giorgi Mamardashvili, though no new update was offered during Slot’s pre-match press conference.

Alexis Mac Allister will be in the squad, but he is not fit enough to complete 90 minutes.

Darwin Nunez, meanwhile, is in the midst of completing a transfer to Al-Hilal and will not be part of the squad after he was granted permission to travel for his medical.

2. New Adidas away kit makes its debut

Liverpool will wear their new Adidas away kit for the first time at Wembley after the home shirt had its first outing at Anfield earlier in the week.

The next time the club is likely to don the away strip is at Burnley following the international break on September 14.

* Liverpool’s new away kit is available to purchase in-store and online at the official LFC store here.

3. Crystal Palace ins and outs

Since the two clubs last met on the final day of the season, change has primarily taken place at Anfield, and Oliver Glasner has expressed dissatisfaction with his club’s slow business.

The Eagles have only signed left-back Borna Sosa for £3 million from Ajax and reserve goalkeeper Walter Benitez, and face the prospect of losing key figures Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi.

They have also seen Joel Ward and Rob Holding depart, as too Jeffrey Schlupp. Eddie Nketiah, meanwhile, is sidelined with a hamstring injury.

They are currently appealing to be reinstated in the Europa League and will discover their fate on August 11.

Possible Palace XI: Henderson; Richards, Guehi, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Kamada, Mitchell; Eze, Sarr; Mateta

4. Strongest possible XI

With Virgil van Dijk having recovered from the illness that kept him out of the double-header on Monday, he will be expected to start alongside Ibrahima Konate at Wembley.

Milos Kerkez has proven to be the early preference at left-back and with Bradley still sidelined, fellow new signing Jeremie Frimpong is the clear choice on the right.

It would then not be a surprise to see Slot turn to the same players in the front of half of the pitch as he did in the second of the two friendlies against Athletic Club.

This would see Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike all start.

Predicted Liverpool lineup: Mamardashvili; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike

5. Straight to penalties and 6 subs

If the match finishes level after the full-time whistle, there will be no extra time, and instead, it will go straight to a penalty shootout.

As for the number of substitutes, each club can name nine players on the bench and can call on six throughout the match – one more than in the season proper.

6. Slot: “We already have a lot of attacking power”

Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Slot explained that the club are “always looking” for deals in the transfer market but insisted he is happy with his current depth:

“I think, we think, we already have a lot of attacking power in our team.

“I think about Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike, Mo Salah, Jeremie Frimpong who play as a right winger, Florian Wirtz who can play as a left winger.

“I already feel I have a lot of attacking options in my current squad, but as always as a club, we are always looking at the chances in the market.

“But that can also be in the midfield or in the last line.”

We know Alexander Isak wants the Reds, now to see if a deal can be done!

7. Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Chris Kavanagh is the referee at Wembley and will be assisted by James Mainwaring and Wade Smith.

He oversaw three Liverpool fixtures last season in the Premier League and Slot’s side won two and drew the other.

As for VAR, Paul Tierney has that honour and we can only hope he gets the season off to a strong start and does not have us all dreading another campaign of talking about the referees – though that’s likely to happen no matter what!

8. How you can follow the match with TIA!

Liverpool will face Crystal Palace in the Community Shield on Sunday, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm (BST).

It will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK, with coverage starting at 2pm, which is available to live stream here.

As ever, if you prefer biased commentary, then This Is Anfield’s liveblog has you covered, with Harry McMullen to keep you informed and entertained from 2.15pm.