🏏 Sun, 14 Sep 2025 14:30 BST
Everton Women
vs
Tottenham Hotspur Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- This fixture pits two young Japan internationals against each other at centre-back. Everton start 22-year-old Rion Ishikawa, who left Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies for her first move abroad and won a starting place almost immediately with her 172cm frame and one-on-one defending. Tottenham answer with 19-year-old Toko Koga, signed from Feyenoord in July 2025, who started all four of Japan's matches at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- There is a reunion in the Everton goal. Courtney Brosnan, the American-born Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, spent time at Tottenham earlier in a career that has also taken in West Ham United and the Houston Dash. The 29-year-old is known for consistent shot-stopping and advanced positioning, and she now has to deal with the attack of a club she once represented.
- Everton's back line looks very different after the summer. Ruby Mace, 22, arrived from Leicester City in September 2025 for a club record fee and brings versatility across centre-back and defensive midfield, with Arsenal and Manchester City already on her CV. Alongside her is Martina Fernández, a 20-year-old Barcelona academy graduate and two-time U-19 European champion who is left-footed and comfortable starting play from the back.
- Tottenham's front pairing mixes a proven winner with a homegrown talent. Captain Bethany England won both the WSL Player of the Year and the PFA award at Chelsea before joining Spurs in January 2023 for £250,000, a domestic record at the time, and the 31-year-old striker thrives on penalty-box instinct. Beside her, Jess Naz is an Enfield-born academy product who earned her first senior England call-up in May 2024.
- The midfield scrap could decide the afternoon. Everton build around Clare Wheeler, the Australia defensive midfielder who played at the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics and, at 163cm, wins the ball through anticipation and relentless running. Spurs counter with Olga Ahtinen's 75 Finland caps, Eveliina Summanen's club record for WSL assists, and the 32-year-old Jamaica international Drew Spence, a long-serving Chelsea presence before her move.
- Katja Snoeijs leads the Everton line. The 29-year-old wore the Netherlands' number nine in Vivianne Miedema's absence at the 2023 World Cup and scored seven WSL goals in 2022-23, and her value lies in holding the ball up and stretching defences with her running. Facing her is Clare Hunt, the Australia centre-back who came through Paris Saint-Germain and reached the semi-finals on home soil in 2023.
- The full-back duels are worth tracking. Everton's Maz Pacheco is a left-footed left-back with WSL mileage from Liverpool and Reading, quick and accurate with her crossing, and she received a first Philippines call-up in 2024 at the age of 27. On the other side of the pitch, Amanda Nildén occupies Tottenham's left after joining from Juventus in 2024; the Sweden international played at EURO 2022 and combines pace with genuine physicality in duels.
- Everton carry the deeper bench. Kelly Gago, the 178cm France forward who arrived from Nantes in December 2024, offers an aerial and physical alternative, while Nigeria winger Toni Payne brings 169 appearances for Sevilla and 2023 World Cup experience. Japan midfielder Honoka Hayashi is also in reserve: she moved from West Ham in the summer of 2024 and scored the goal that ended Chelsea's 34-match unbeaten run.
- Two newer Spurs faces deserve attention. Katinka Tandberg, a 21-year-old Oslo-born Norwegian striker, only joined from Hammarby in September 2025 and is valued for her finishing inside the box. Behind her, Josefine Rybrink anchors the defence after more than 200 appearances for BK Häcken; the 27-year-old Sweden international turned a short-term deal signed in January 2025 into a longer stay.