🏏 Sun, 2 Nov 2025 12:00 GMT
Tottenham Hotspur Women
vs
Liverpool Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Three Japanese internationals share the pitch in a rare WSL meeting. Spurs start 19-year-old centre-back Toko Koga, who joined from Feyenoord in July 2025 and became the club's youngest ever scorer. Liverpool counter with Fuka Nagano, the 26-year-old central midfielder at the heart of the Nadeshiko side, and 29-year-old right-back Risa Shimizu.
- Beth England faces a familiar opponent. The 31-year-old Spurs captain won both the WSL Player of the Year and PFA Player of the Year awards during her Chelsea days before moving to north London in January 2023 for a then-domestic record fee of £250,000. Her CV also includes a loan spell at Liverpool, so her penalty-box instincts are aimed at a former employer.
- There is a heavy Swedish accent to this fixture. Liverpool's front line pairs 25-year-old Cornelia Kapocs with 24-year-old Beata Olsson, both Kristianstads DFF products who passed through the Florida college system before reaching the WSL. Spurs answer with centre-back Josefine Rybrink, who made 200-plus appearances for BK Hacken, and former Juventus left-back Amanda Nilden.
- Midfield control will decide the rhythm. Spurs lean on Finland international Eveliina Summanen, the club's all-time WSL assist leader since arriving in 2022, with 33-year-old Jamaica international Drew Spence screening behind her. Liverpool rely on the 160cm Nagano to dictate tempo through positional intelligence and work rate, flanked by Wales international Ceri Holland and Northern Ireland's Sophie Carr.
- The wide duels should be lively. Denmark international Olivia Holt, who scored 25 goals in 47 games across two seasons at Rosengard, operates from the left for Spurs, while 22-year-old Matilda Vinberg, a senior debutant at 15 and a domestic double winner with Hammarby, attacks from the right. Shimizu and left-footed full-back Lily Woodham are charged with containing them.
- Both central defensive pairings carry serious pedigree. Spurs field Australia international Clare Hunt, a semi-finalist at the 2023 home World Cup and a former Paris Saint-Germain player, alongside Koga, who started all four matches for Japan at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Liverpool respond with 175cm skipper Grace Fisk, handed the armband in September 2025, and left-footed Wales international Gemma Evans.
- There is a clear experience gap between the goalkeepers. Spurs trust Netherlands international Lize Kop, previously at Ajax and Leicester City, whose 173cm frame is offset by sharp reactions and positioning. Liverpool go with the young Faye Kirby, backed up on the bench by 34-year-old Rachael Laws, a veteran of spells at Sunderland and Reading.
- The benches could shape the closing stages. Spurs can call on 21-year-old Norwegian striker Katinka Tandberg, signed from Hammarby in September 2025, and Finland midfielder Olga Ahtinen, a 75-cap international. Liverpool hold 178cm Scotland centre-back Jenna Clark for defensive solidity and Denmark's 23-year-old Sophie Lungaard for fresh legs in midfield.
- One more subplot sits on the Spurs bench. Left-footed winger Missy Bo Thomas came through Liverpool's academy and has represented England at youth level. If the direct, quick-footed forward is introduced, she will be testing herself against the defence of the club that developed her.