Community Shield will tell us whether Liverpool are the team to beat

It has been only 75 days since Liverpool lifted the Premier League trophy in front of a packed house at Anfield, but already the new season is hurtling into view. While the champions’ 2025-26 campaign begins in earnest at home to Bournemouthon Aug. 15, this weekend will provide a solid indication of how well-equipped they are to begin their title defense as they take on Crystal Palace in the FA Community Shield.

It is a tradition that dates back more than a century, with the one-off match contested by the English champions and the FA Cup winners on the eve of every new season. Although there has long been plenty of debate over the legitimacy of the Community Shield as a major trophy, the occasion offers the competing teams a chance to hone their match sharpness in a competitive environment, with close to 90,000 fans in attendance at Wembley Stadium.

Liverpool have claimed the prize on 16 previous occasions, while Sunday will mark Palace’s first-ever appearance in the showpiece fixture. But how much can the match tell us about Liverpool’s readiness for the new season?

What Liverpool have learned from preseason

With Liverpool not involved in the revamped Club World Cup, which ran in the U.S. from June 14 to July 13, this summer has provided a unique opportunity for coach Arne Slot and his players to enjoy a prolonged period of rest before getting their preparations for the new campaign underway. On the pitch, preseason has largely been a success for the champions, who have won five of their six games by an aggregate score of 20-9. Their lone defeat came in a friendly against Serie A side AC Milan.

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Slot’s side enjoyed a tour to Asia, drawing huge crowds in both Hong Kong and Japan, and nearly the entirety of the squad got important minutes under their belt in Monday’s doubleheader against Athletic Club at Anfield. They have looked slick too, with flashes of Slot’s fluid, possession-based style on full display. Defensively, in particular, there are areas for improvement, but despite a relatively drastic overhaul of last season’s title-winning squad, there is a clear identity about the way Liverpool play.

Of course, away from the pitch, there has been an unfathomable challenge for Slot and his players to contend with after the death of striker Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a car accident last month. Not only was Diogo Jota an excellent player for Liverpool, but he was a much-loved member of the first-team squad. Various tributes have taken place across the summer, and it’s likely those will continue well into the new season. Measures have been put in place to ensure staff, both on the pitch and behind the scenes, have access to the support they need as they continue to navigate through their grief.

“If we want to laugh, we laugh; if we want to cry, we’re going to cry,” Slot told LFCTV last month. “If [the players] want to train, they can train — if they don’t want to train, they can not train. But be yourself. Don’t think you have to be different than your emotions tell you.”

While Liverpool have handled the tragedy with the utmost care and sensitivity, the impact of Diogo Jota’s death will be keenly felt for a long time.

How have the new signings settled in?

It is rare to see such a radical change in personnel at a team following a title-winning season, but there was always a sense that this summer would be a big one for Liverpool despite their Premier League triumph. With Federico Chiesa the only arrival last summer, the need for a refresh was clear, and the club has so far spent more than £250 million on new signings.

Among them is former Bayer Leverkusen talisman Florian Wirtz, who snubbed a move to Bayern Munich to join the Premier League champions in a deal that could rise to a British-record £116 million if the £16 million in add-ons are paid in full.

If Wirtz is feeling the pressure of such a hefty price tag, he hasn’t shown it so far. The 22-year-old has already offered glimpses of his immense talent, scoring his first goal for the club in a 3-1 win over Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan. While he will face much sterner tests in the Premier League, the signs are already extremely promising.

The same can be said for fellow new recruits Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, who have seemingly adapted very quickly to life on Merseyside. Goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili — who signed with Liverpool last summer before spending the season on loan at Valencia — has also impressed on his first outings for the club, while striker Hugo Ekitike did as well against Athletic Club following his £69 million move from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Despite Liverpool’s sizable spending, the breakout star in preseason has arguably been teenager Rio Ngumoha, who joined the club from Chelsea‘s academy in 2024. The 16-year-old has scored three goals this summer — including a stunning solo strike against Athletic Club on Monday — and while Liverpool will be keen not to put too much pressure on him, the view inside Anfield is that the forward very much features in Slot’s plans for the new season.

What still needs to be done in the transfer market?

While Liverpool have made some shrewd signings, there have also been several outgoings at the club this summer.

Luis Díaz joined Bayern Munich, while Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal have agreed a deal to sign Darwin Núñez. Chiesa, who played just 104 minutes in the Premier League last term, could also look to depart in search of more first-team minutes. With that in mind, Liverpool are looking to add another attacker to their ranks. Newcastle United‘s Alexander Isak is at the top of their list of targets: Slot’s side saw a £110 million bid for the striker rejected last week, though the saga is likely to rumble on for some time yet.

Whether it’s Isak or someone else, any new signing would have to be of the quality to become a regular starter and be acquired for a reasonable fee. Finding a player who satisfies both of those criteria is likely to prove challenging.

At the other end of the pitch, Liverpool are also in need of defensive reinforcements following the departure of center back Jarell Quansah to Leverkusen. With captain Virgil van Dijk having just turned 34 and his usual partners in defense, Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté, having endured their fair share of injury struggles, the need to recruit another central defender is clear.

Interestingly, Liverpool will see one of their top targets — Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi — in action at Wembley this weekend. The champions are admirers of the defender, who has one year left on his Palace contract, but the financial terms of any potential deal would need to be right for both parties for a move to happen this summer.

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How the game could set the tone for the season

The outcome of Sunday’s match will not be definitive in terms of outlining Liverpool’s readiness for the new season, but it will be instructive. While the game is ultimately a friendly — ensuring all players avoid injury and hone their fitness is the overall priority for both teams — the prospect of silverware does raise the stakes.

For Palace, the opportunity to add to their trophy cabinet after winning their first major honor, the 2025 FA Cup, will be tantalizing. Oliver Glasner’s side will want to give its supporters another Wembley day to remember, and Slot’s team will know it has to match their intensity levels to beat them.

Defeat would give Liverpool’s detractors ammunition and crank up the pressure ahead of their season opener against Bournemouth. A victory would be a welcome signal of intent ahead of a campaign in which they will go into every match with a target on their backs.

Winning the Premier League has marked Liverpool out as the team to beat. This weekend will give them the chance to show they live up to that billing.