🏏 Sun, 26 Apr 2026 14:00 BST
Liverpool Women
vs
West Ham Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- West Ham's midfield conductor Katie Zelem faces one of her former clubs. The 30-year-old defensive midfielder came through Liverpool before a long spell at Manchester United, where she captained the side and finished as the club's third-highest scorer and second-most capped player. Her set-piece delivery and tempo control from deep will shape how the visitors manage this game.
- Liverpool's captain Grace Fisk has the same storyline in reverse. The 28-year-old centre-back arrived from West Ham and was handed the armband in September 2025, and right-back Risa Shimizu also spent time at the Hammers before her move to Manchester City. Both sides therefore field a former West Ham defender in the back line.
- Four Japanese internationals are involved. Liverpool start Fuka Nagano, the 27-year-old central midfielder, alongside 29-year-old right-back Risa Shimizu, while West Ham lead the line with Nadeshiko Japan's first-choice striker Riko Ueki, 26. Yu Endo, who made 171 appearances across 15 years at Urawa Reds Ladies, waits on the visiting bench.
- The Japanese connections run deeper than nationality. Shimizu and Ueki were both developed at Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza, so two former club-mates line up on opposite sides here. Nagano came through Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies and Endo through Urawa Reds Ladies, meaning graduates of Japan's two biggest women's academies meet in the WSL.
- Control of central midfield looks decisive. Nagano, only 160cm but blessed with sharp passing and relentless running, is partnered by Wales international Ceri Holland, 28, another former Manchester United midfielder. West Ham counter with Zelem and Finland's Oona Siren, 25, who won back-to-back Finnish championships and a cup with KuPS before moving to England.
- Liverpool's starting eleven has a strong Swedish core. Strikers Cornelia Kapocs and Beata Olsson, both 25, came through Kristianstads DFF, 23-year-old full-back Alice Bergström joined from BK Häcken, and Jennifer Falk takes the gloves. That gives the hosts four Swedes on the pitch from the first whistle.
- The goalkeeping duel is worth watching. Falk, 33, won two league titles with BK Häcken and only arrived on loan in January 2026, bringing calm handling and positioning. Poland's Kinga Szemik, 28, kept a clean sheet in the Euro 2025 qualifying play-off that sent her country to a first major tournament and is known for her reflexes and penalty saves.
- West Ham's attack carries serious international pedigree. Shekiera Martinez, 24, spent eight years at Eintracht Frankfurt before earning her Germany call-up and was top scorer at the 2018 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship with nine goals. On the left, 32-year-old Viviane Asseyi has more than 60 France caps and was named Hammer of the Year for 2024-25.
- Both back lines are stocked with experience. West Ham pair Norway's Tuva Hansen, 28, a Bundesliga winner during her time at Bayern Munich, with Finland's Eva Nyström, 26, who made over 100 appearances for Hammarby, while Estelle Cascarino, 29, brings Lyon, PSG and Juventus mileage at right-back. Liverpool answer with 24-year-old Scotland centre-back Jenna Clark, whose 178cm frame dominates aerial duels.
- There is game-changing quality in reserve too. Liverpool can call on Anna Josendal, the 24-year-old Norway striker who was named Toppserien MVP in 2023 and played at that summer's World Cup. West Ham hold back Switzerland's Seraina Piubel, 25, a four-time Swiss champion with Zurich, 20-year-old Lyon academy product Leila Vanderlaar and Canada's Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Shelina Zadorsky, 33.