Crystal Palace vs Liverpool tips and predictions: Slot’s renewed Reds to storm the Palace at Wembley?

Crystal Palace state of play

After lifting the FA Cup and setting a club-record Premier League points tally last season, Crystal Palace fans will be hoping for another memorable campaign. 

Oliver Glasner insists the Community Shield showdown will be taken seriously as Palace look to start the new season positively. "We are facing the champions,” he said. “A team who invested £300m, buying high-quality players. It is a great challenge. We will be ready.”

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Nevertheless, the biggest story remains Palace's demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League. 

The Eagles were punished for breaching multi-club ownership rules as American businessman John Textor owns a stake in the club and is the majority owner of Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League. Palace have submitted an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The future of influential attacker Eberechi Eze is up in the air. Reports suggest Arsenal are still sniffing around for the England man. Defender Marc Guehi, meanwhile, is also a man in serious demand. 

Liverpool state of play 

Arne Slot has shuffled his pack this summer after Liverpool's stunning title charge last term. Trent Alexander-Arnold is now a Real Madrid player and Luis Diaz has joined Bayern Munich. Al-Hilal, meanwhile, have agreed a deal to sign forward Darwin Nunez. 

Florian Wirtz has been snapped up by the Reds from Bayer Leverkusen for around £100m, along with Jeremie Frimpong for £29.5m. 

Hugo Ekitike is another Bundesliga arrival - albeit from Eintracht Frankfurt. The French target man was a £69m purchase.

READ: The return of the acca! Check out our Weekly Acca including the Community Shield

Alexander Isak remains a top target, but Newcastle chiefs are demanding £150m to do a deal. 

It was announced last month that Liverpool will create a permanent sculpted tribute to Diogo Jota and Andre Silva. 

The Premier League champions will also wear a “Forever 20” emblem on their shirts in the new campaign. Jota tragically died in a car crash along with his brother Silva in Spain on 3 July.

Key talking point: Will Liverpool’s big-money buys step up?  

Only three players aged 23 or under were directly involved in more goals than Ekitike in Europe's big five leagues last season. 

The Frenchman notched 15 top-flight goals and assisted eight. He was also involved in the fifth-most 'attacking sequences' in the Bundesliga. 

However, the Premier League is a different kettle of fish and the pressure will be on from the off. 

READ: Discover who could be thorn in Liverpool’s side on Sunday?

Wirtz has an even bigger price tag on his shoulders. His stats suggest he could hit the ground running, though. 

The versatile attacker recorded 44 assists in the Bundesliga since he made his debut in May 2020. That ranks him third of all players over that time. But crucially, everyone else in the top five is aged 29 or older. 

A total of 23 of his 31 Bundesliga appearances in 2024-25 came in an attacking midfield/number 10 role, although he does tend to gravitate towards the left flank.

FIRST’s top tip for Crystal Palace vs Chelsea

Pick: Florian Wirtz anytime goalscorer at 15/8 (Betway)

Liverpool signed off their pre-season jaunt to Japan with a 3-1 victory over Yokohama F. Marinos last week. 

And, after falling behind, Florian Wirtz scored his first goal for the club. The 31-cap Germany international had a solid record in the Bundesliga last term and bagged 10 goals. 

The season before that he managed a career best 11 top-flight strikes. Not bad for a player who isn't a striker. Palace should be wary.  

Extra tips

Pick: Mohamed Salah first goalscorer at 7/2 (Betway)

Ignore the Egyptian superstar at your peril. He might be entering the twilight of his career, but Salah has looked fitter than ever in preseason. 

He bagged an astonishing 29 goals and delivered 18 assists as the Reds won the Premier League title last time out. 

Salah has scored 186 Premier League goals and sits fifth on the all-time list - one behind former Newcastle and Manchester United striker Andy Cole. The evergreen ace also scored against Athletic Club in a friendly on Monday. 

Pick: Daniel Munoz booking at 29/10 (BetMGM)

The Palace marathon man works tirelessly on the right flank from wing-back. He bagged an assist in the FA Cup final last season and was also Palace's leading tackler. 

However, his combative and industrious approach translates into bookings. The Colombian picked up a hefty 10 yellow cards last term.  

Team news

New boys Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong are all likely to feature. 

Superstar shot stopper Alisson Becker left the club's pre-season tour due to a personal problem. Alexis Mac Allister is working his way back to full fitness but could still get the nod at Wembley. Injury plagued Joe Gomez is back in the treatment room. 

Palace might hand debuts to new signings Borna Sosa and Walter Benitez.

Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi remain heavily linked with moves away from south London and the club will have tough calls to make on their prized assets. 

Ex-Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is out of action for the next six weeks. 

Crystal Palace vs Liverpool predicted line-ups

Crystal Palace: Henderson; Richards, Guehi, Lacroix; Munoz, Hughes, Kamada, Mitchell; Eze, Sarr; Mateta (3-4-2-1)

Liverpool: Alisson; Kerkez, Van Dijk, Konate, Frimpong; Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike (4-2-3-1)

Form guide (including friendlies)

Crystal Palace: DDWWWDWWWL

Liverpool: LDLDWWLWWW

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Odds correct at the time of writing.