It’s not your average season opener: Liverpool, fresh off their 20th Premier League trophy, are lining up against a Crystal Palace side still buzzing from their first-ever FA Cup win. The 2025 FA Community Shield at Wembley carries more weight than usual for both clubs, and the numbers behind the fixture are pretty revealing.
Crystal Palace have never set foot in a Community Shield match before. Their journey to Wembley was sealed after taking down Manchester City in an FA Cup final that no one saw coming. But here’s the twist—none of the last four teams debuting in this match have left with the trophy. In fact, when both Southampton and Wimbledon made their first appearance, Liverpool was the team to send them home empty handed. Palace fans are desperately hoping that history won’t repeat itself.
While it’s all new for Palace, Liverpool are no strangers here. This will be their fourth Community Shield appearance since 2019. Compare that to the previous 28 years, where they showed up the same number of times. That’s how much things have shifted under the current regime. Arne Slot, in his first season as Liverpool manager, now leads the team with a shot to grab their 17th Community Shield, matching Manchester United's all-time record.
The numbers tilt heavily in Liverpool’s favor, at least on paper. Out of 65 meetings with Palace, Liverpool have come out on top 36 times. Palace have managed only 15 wins, and draws make up the rest. Even more telling, Palace have beaten Liverpool just once in their last 16 encounters—the shock 1-0 win at Anfield during last season's league run. Before that, their most recent win at Anfield dates back to 2017.
This will be the first time these sides meet at Wembley. Up until now, their run-ins never had the setting or the stakes this high. It’s also one of those quirky stats—the last time a Community Shield featured teams who clashed on the final day of the previous Premier League season was in 1989. That season, Liverpool sneaked past Arsenal 1-0. Fast-forward to last year, and Liverpool’s narrow win at Selhurst Park not only sealed the league title but continued their long unbeaten stretch against Palace, now at 13 games and counting in all competitions.
Community Shield games are known for upsets: in seven of the last nine matches, the FA Cup holders actually beat the Premier League champions. Still, the memory of Manchester City outlasting Manchester United on penalties last year proves nothing’s guaranteed in this contest. Liverpool themselves have tasted both ends—they’ve only won one of their last six Shield games as league champions. Their last success was a 2-1 win over Wimbledon in 1988, and more recently, they beat City in 2022 but faltered in penalty shootouts against both City and Arsenal in 2019 and 2020.
If Liverpool win, they’ll not only reach a major milestone, but do it while reinforcing their Community Shield legacy. Palace, on the other hand, show up with nothing to lose, knowing they’ve already made club history just by being part of this match. As kickoff looms, the stats only add to the anticipation—but in football, numbers can flip fast when the ball starts rolling at Wembley.
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