🏏 Sun, 21 Sep 2025 14:50 BST
Manchester United Women
vs
Arsenal Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Hinata Miyazawa lines up on Manchester United's right flank, and the 25-year-old remains Japan's headline act after winning the Golden Boot at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. At 157cm she relies on acceleration and close control rather than power, and she arrived in England from Mynavi Sendai Ladies. Waiting for her is Australia left-back Steph Catley, a 31-year-old whose defensive reliability is as valued as her delivery, making this flank a genuine contest of styles.
- Alessia Russo faces the club where she made her name. The 26-year-old England striker spent time at Manchester United before spells at Brighton and Chelsea, and her back-heel at Euro 2022 turned her into a household name. At 175cm she offers a genuine reference point for Arsenal's build-up, and she will be tracked by Maya Le Tissier, the 23-year-old Guernsey-born United captain whose reading of the game earned her a place in the PFA WSL Team of the Year.
- The reunion cuts both ways. United centre-back Dominique Janssen won a WSL title with Arsenal and back-to-back Bundesliga crowns at Wolfsburg, and the 30-year-old now captains the Netherlands. Comfortable enough on the ball to operate as a holding midfielder, she is United's designated escape route when Arsenal press high. She also knows Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar well, the pair being international team-mates.
- United field two players still settling in. Jess Park, 23, joined from Manchester City in September 2025 on a four-year deal and was part of England's Euro 2025 winning squad, bringing dribbling and passing that lifts the tempo around her. Fridolina Rolfo arrived from Barcelona in August; the 31-year-old Sweden international has 17 major honours including two Champions League titles and can play either attacking or defensive roles down the left.
- Sweden is well represented in United's left-sided spine. Julia Zigiotti Olme, 27, won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich and offers the running and defensive diligence that keeps midfield balanced. Behind her, 22-year-old Anna Sandberg joined from BK Hacken for a record fee for a Swedish women's player and was part of the squad that finished third at the 2023 World Cup. Her overlapping runs stretch the pitch, but they also leave space Arsenal will look to attack.
- Arsenal's forward line is stacked with individual quality. Mariona Caldentey, 29, spent a decade at Barcelona and won the 2023 World Cup with Spain; Olivia Smith, the 21-year-old Canada international, became the first million-pound signing in women's football when she moved from Liverpool; and Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe, 30, adds her trademark aggression and left-footed delivery. Picking up all three is United's central defensive problem.
- The goalkeeping duel is worth watching in its own right. United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce is a 185cm United States international who shared the WSL Golden Glove in 2024-25 with 13 clean sheets. Arsenal counter with Daphne van Domselaar, the Netherlands number one who was nominated for the 2023 Ballon d'Or and is rated for both her shot-stopping and her organisation of the line in front of her.
- Two very different playmakers occupy the same zone. Arsenal captain Kim Little, 35, is a club legend whose technique and vision still dictate matches, and she now concentrates solely on club football after retiring from international duty. Ella Toone, 26, is the academy-produced attacking midfielder who has become United's emblem and who helped England win Euro 2022. Whoever imposes their rhythm from the number ten position will shape the afternoon.
- Both benches carry late-game threat. Arsenal can call on Beth Mead, the Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner, and Chloe Kelly, scorer of the winning goal in that final and a permanent signing in 2025. United answer with Elisabeth Terland, the Norway forward who scored 13 goals for Brighton to finish second in the WSL scoring charts, and 37-year-old Rachel Williams, a 15-cap England striker in her third spell at the club.