Pain and passion shared in an intriguing curtain-raiser

Liverpool and Crystal Palace clash over silverware, having ended last season together as champions

- Will Castle

It was fitting that both Liverpool and Crystal Palace finished last season together, both on the highest of highs. One ending a 35year wait to lift the Premier League in front of fans, the other ending a 164-year wait to win a first-ever major trophy.

They now begin the new campaign against one another, the Community Shield on the line, albeit off the back of respective summers that have paled in contrast.

Three months on from their Wembley miracle, besting Manchester City to win the FA Cup, Palace's off-season has been plagued by the ongoing battle to keep their subsequent Europa League dream alive. The club were found to have breached multi-club ownership rules for Uefa competitions, crucially missing the 1 March deadline to demonstrate that the then co-owner John Textor, also part-owner at Lyon, had no control or influence over more than one club in the same competition.

It led to a European demotion for the Eagles, who have been ordered to play in the Conference League, while Nottingham Forest have been the ultimate beneficiary - bumped up to the continent's second-tier tournament after voicing their own concerns about Palace's Europa League place. Palace are vehemently fighting the decision, launching an appeal in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which will culminate in tomorrow's legal verdict.

Fear of injustice has stunted morale at Selhurst Park. "If you get punished when you feel innocent, it's tough," said Palace manager Oliver Glasner. "And it feels like this. If we play Conference League, it feels like we are punished, but being innocent. On the other side, if we had ended the season on position seven and go straight into the Conference League, we all would have celebrated.