Football. Community Shield: Liverpool returns to trophy contention against Crystal Palace

It's been a particularly busy summer on the banks of the Mersey. Since the transfer window opened, Liverpool have spent almost without counting. After spending over 300 million euros to bring in Florian Wirtz (130 million), Hugo Ekitike (90) , Milos Kerkez (just under 50), and Jeremie Frimpong (35), the English champions are approaching this season with the weight of being the favorites to win as many titles as possible.

This ambition makes Arne Slot's charges highly anticipated for their first official match of the season, this Sunday (4 p.m.) in the Community Shield against Crystal Palace. A match that traditionally pits the Premier League winner against the FA Cup winner.

With such investments, Liverpool are already under pressure to kick off their season with a title at Wembley. "Normally, you have to play many games before you can win something. We have the opportunity to win something right at the start of the season," Slot said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

But the Dutch coach is still wary of Crystal Palace, who surprisingly beat Manchester City in the Cup final last May . "Unfortunately, we have to face a very good Crystal Palace team, against whom we have always had a hard time winning," he explained. "They showed in this final and even in the semi-finals, how difficult it is to beat them in a single match."

For the Eagles , the stakes are quite different. Relegated to the Conference League (the least prestigious of the European Cups), the south London club is fighting before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to regain the Europa League, to which its victory in the Cup normally entitles it but from which it has been excluded due to the regulations on multi-ownership.

American businessman John Textor owned shares in Palace and also owned Olympique Lyonnais, which also qualified for the next Europa League. He sold his stake in the London club in early July (and was removed from the OL presidency), but UEFA believes his withdrawal came too late to requalify the English club in the Champions League .

A win against Liverpool would therefore be a boost for Palace, who have so far managed to keep Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze despite numerous requests from more prestigious clubs.