🏏 Sun, 14 Sep 2025 12:00 BST
London City Lionesses
vs
Manchester United Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
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- London City Lionesses build from the back around Saki Kumagai, the Japan captain with more than 162 caps. The 34-year-old centre-back converted the winning penalty in the 2011 Women's World Cup final shootout and has since played for Urawa Reds Ladies, 1. FFC Frankfurt, Lyon, Bayern Munich and AS Roma, collecting 19 trophies in Lyon alone, including five Champions League titles. Her reading of the game and organisation remain elite.
- Her defensive partner is no less decorated. Alanna Kennedy, 30, has over 148 caps for Australia and won the NWSL title in 2016 after spells with Manchester City, the Orlando Pride and Western New York Flash. She offers long diagonal passing and a genuine set-piece threat on top of her defending, giving the Lionesses two centre-backs comfortable starting attacks.
- Manchester United answer with another Japan international on the right flank. Hinata Miyazawa, 25, won the Golden Boot as top scorer at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and, at 157cm, relies on pace and close control to unpick defences. Her arrival from Mynavi Sendai Ladies has made her a fixture in this side, and her duel with compatriot Kumagai is the headline subplot.
- Nikita Parris faces a club she knows well. The 31-year-old England forward spent time at Manchester United before moving between Lyon, Arsenal, Everton and Brighton, and she was part of the squad that won UEFA Women's Euro 2022. She also finished as England's leading scorer in 2019 World Cup qualifying with six goals, and her acceleration will test United's full-backs.
- The second reunion story is Katie Zelem. The 29-year-old holding midfielder captained Manchester United and left as the club's third-highest scorer and second-most capped player, having previously come through at Liverpool. Her range of passing from deep and her set-piece delivery are the most obvious way the Lionesses can hurt her former employers.
- London City's spine has a strong Barcelona accent. Fernández, the 23-year-old centre-back, joined La Masia at 12 and made 94 appearances for Barça while winning five consecutive Liga F titles and two Champions Leagues. On the left is 19-year-old Spain winger Lucía Corrales, another La Masia graduate signed for roughly £430,000 after a loan at Sevilla, while 157cm holding midfielder María Pérez, a 2023 World Cup winner at 23, waits on the bench.
- The club's boldest piece of business was Grace Geyoro. The 28-year-old France midfielder, capped 102 times, made 270 appearances and scored 54 goals for Paris Saint-Germain and captained the club before moving for a fee of around one million euros, a world record in the women's game. Her box-to-box running and late arrivals in the area could change the complexion of the second half.
- Leading the line is a genuine great of the Swedish game. Kosovare Asllani, 36, has 205 caps and 50 international goals plus a silver medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics, and her career has taken in Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, AC Milan and the Chicago Red Stars. At 165cm she works as a technical reference point rather than a target man.
- United's attacking unit is equally well stocked. Melvine Malard, the 25-year-old France forward, won four Champions League titles at Lyon and thrives on movement inside the box, while academy graduate Ella Toone, 26, provides the final-third quality that helped England win Euro 2022. Joining them is Jess Park, 23, signed from Manchester City on a four-year deal in September 2025 after lifting Euro 2025.
- United's backbone starts with Phallon Tullis-Joyce. The 185cm American goalkeeper, 28, shared the WSL Golden Glove in 2024-25 with 13 clean sheets. In front of her are Maya Le Tissier, the 23-year-old from Guernsey who took the captaincy at 22 and has made the PFA WSL Team of the Year, 178cm Millie Turner, 29, who has been at the club since its formation in 2018, and Anna Sandberg, the 22-year-old Sweden left-back signed from BK Häcken for a record fee for a Swedish woman.
- Both benches are stacked with tournament experience. United can introduce Fridolina Rolfö, the 31-year-old Sweden international who joined from Barcelona in August 2025 with 17 major trophies including two Champions Leagues, Norway striker Elisabeth Terland, 24, who scored 13 goals for Brighton, and Netherlands captain Dominique Janssen, 30. The Lionesses counter with Italy's Elena Linari, 31, named in the Euro 2025 Team of the Tournament, and Julia Roddar, 33, an Olympic silver medallist from Tokyo.