🏏 Sun, 28 Sep 2025 12:00 BST
Liverpool Women
vs
Manchester United Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Three Japan internationals are involved in this one. Liverpool start Fuka Nagano in midfield with Risa Shimizu among the substitutes, while Manchester United name Hinata Miyazawa in their line-up. Nagano and Miyazawa line up together for Nadeshiko Japan; here they are on opposite sides.
- Fuka Nagano, 26, is described as the heartbeat of this Liverpool side. At 160cm she relies on passing accuracy and tactical intelligence to build play, and her pressing intensity rarely drops. She will have to navigate Julia Zigiotti Olme, the Sweden holding midfielder who won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, and Ella Toone, United's academy-raised attacking midfielder. How Nagano moves the ball past that pair will shape the game.
- United field two natural right-sided attackers at the same time. Hinata Miyazawa won the Golden Boot at the 2023 Women's World Cup and, at 157cm, cuts defences open with pace and close control. Jess Park, an England international who won Euro 2025, only signed a four-year deal from Manchester City in September 2025 and brings creativity as a playmaker. How the two fit together is one of the more interesting questions of the afternoon.
- There is a reunion in the Liverpool midfield. Ceri Holland, the 27-year-old Wales international, joined Liverpool from Manchester United and has become a central figure with her technical passing and ability to dictate play. Facing a club she knows well, the question is how much control she can wrestle away from them.
- United's summer business added serious pedigree. Fridolina Rolfo arrived from Barcelona in August 2025 with 17 major honours to her name, including two Champions League titles. The 31-year-old Sweden international, who also played for Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich, can operate anywhere down the left, as an attacker or as a defender, which gives her side flexibility few opponents can match.
- United's attacking options are stacked with finishers. Melvine Malard won four Champions Leagues at Lyon and the France forward's sharp movement in the box remains her trademark. Elisabeth Terland scored 13 goals for Brighton to finish second in the WSL scoring charts, and since her move in summer 2024 the Norway striker has kept producing, picking up multiple player-of-the-month awards.
- Liverpool lead their attack with two Scandinavians. Sophie Roman Haug, the 176cm Norway striker, scored a hat-trick at the 2023 World Cup and combines physicality with aerial strength. Cornelia Kapocs joined in 2024 after Kristianstads DFF and a spell in American college football, and the Sweden international can be trusted either through the middle or out wide.
- The defensive anchors make for a good comparison. United's goal is protected by Phallon Tullis-Joyce, the 185cm United States goalkeeper who shared the WSL Golden Glove in 2024-25 with 13 clean sheets. In front of her are captain Maya Le Tissier, a 23-year-old named in the PFA WSL Team of the Year, and Dominique Janssen, captain of the Netherlands.
- Liverpool's back line is no less experienced. Grace Fisk, appointed captain in September 2025, is a physically imposing centre-back who arrived from West Ham. Beside her are Gemma Bonner, 34, in her second spell at the club after time with Manchester City and Chelsea, and Wales international Gemma Evans, a left-footer comfortable at centre-back or left-back.
- The benches offer contrasting options. United can call on Rachel Williams, the 37-year-old striker who joined Leicester's academy at 12 and is now in her third spell at the club, plus Norway winger Celin Bizet Ildhusoy, a direct dribbler with Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham on her CV. Liverpool can add height and youth through Scotland centre-back Jenna Clark, 178cm, and 23-year-old Denmark midfielder Sofie Lundgaard.