18h59 CEST
02/08/2025
Oliver Glasner revealed that he is close to finalising his starting lineup for Crystal Palace's Community Shield clash against Liverpool.
The Eagles qualified for the curtain-raiser after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final last season, securing their first-ever major trophy.
Palace played Augsburg twice in pre-season on Friday, with Glasner fielding a strong side in the first match before playing a more youthful line-up for the second.
Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a brace while Eberechi Eze, who scored Palace's winner in the FA Cup final but has been linked with a move to Arsenal, rounded off a 3-1 win in Germany.
Glasner hinted he will start with a similar line-up against Liverpool at Wembley, but he does have one or two players pushing for a starting role.
"I think we have one or two other players who are close to being in the starting XI, who deserve it," said Glasner.
"But I think that was pretty much the line-up from the FA Cup final against [Manchester] City.
"When you have the chance to win silverware then go for it" #CPFC pic.twitter.com/0qnEfcEH8F
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) August 2, 2025
"The guys are in top shape; they obviously know the drills. That makes it easy. Now it's just a matter of getting match-fit. That's why they needed 90 minutes of exercise in their legs.
"We actually had another friendly match planned, but now we have a Community Shield against Liverpool instead! But of course, we’re happy to take that. You could say it could be worse!
"We've had a long time to train together this year. There were no major events this year, apart from the Gold Cup – Chris Richards played in the final for the USA – so we've really had good time to prepare together."