🏏 Sun, 26 Apr 2026 12:00 BST
London City Lionesses
vs
Leicester City Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Saki Kumagai is the only Japanese player on show here. The Nadeshiko Japan legend has more than 162 caps, converted the winning penalty in the 2011 Women's World Cup final shootout, and collected 19 trophies at Lyon including five Champions League titles. Now 35, after stops at Urawa, Frankfurt, Lyon, Bayern Munich and Roma, she anchors the London City back line.
- London City's engine room is built around Grace Geyoro, a 102-cap France international who made 270 appearances and scored 54 goals as captain of Paris Saint-Germain. Her move to England cost roughly €1m, a landmark fee in the women's game, and the 28-year-old brings box-to-box running plus a genuine goal threat from deep. Whoever wins the midfield battle wins the afternoon.
- Three former Lyon players fill the home side. Alongside Kumagai are Delphine Cascarino, who racked up 223 games and 45 goals across nine seasons in Lyon while winning six Champions League titles, and Nikita Parris, a Euro 2022 winner with England whose career has taken in Lyon, Arsenal and Manchester City. Parris was England's top scorer in 2019 World Cup qualifying with six goals.
- There is a strong Barcelona accent to the Lionesses' defence. Hana Fernández joined La Masia at 12, played 94 games for Barcelona and won five consecutive Liga F titles plus two Champions Leagues. Beside her is 20-year-old Spain international Lucía Corrales, signed for around £430,000, while 2023 World Cup winner María Pérez waits on the bench.
- Experience is stacked across the home back line. Partnering Kumagai is Alanna Kennedy, who has over 148 caps for Australia and was named MVP of the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup after scoring five goals. A centre-back with a long passing range and a set-piece threat, she forms an unusual pairing of two of Asia's most decorated defenders in a single club side.
- Leicester lean on their long-servers. Captain Sam Tierney holds the club's appearance record and scored the goal that sealed promotion to the WSL. Leading the line is 38-year-old Rachel Williams, who first joined the Leicester academy at 12 and has returned for a third spell after playing for Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham, winning 15 England caps along the way.
- The visitors' defensive unit is just as cosmopolitan. Chantelle Swaby, a 178cm Jamaica international, has won league titles with Fleury 91 in France and Rangers in Scotland. Belgium's Sari Kees began her career as a goalkeeper before converting to centre-back, France's Julie Thibaud arrived after establishing herself at Bordeaux, and Sarah Mayling is on loan from Aston Villa.
- The goalkeeping duel is worth watching. Leicester's Olivia Clarke is a 24-year-old Wales international with more than 30 caps who was part of the Euro 2025 squad, sharpened by spells at Twente and Bristol City. London City counter with Elene Lete, a 173cm Spanish keeper whose command of crosses gives the defence a settled platform.
- Both benches carry game-changers. Leicester can call on Alisha Lehmann, the Switzerland winger with over 16 million followers, 22-year-old France forward Noémie Mouchon, who scored nine in 22 games at Reims, and Republic of Ireland's Heather Payne, a Florida State graduate. London City have Italy's Elena Linari, named in the Euro 2025 team of the tournament, plus Poppy Pattinson and Freya Godfrey, both first called up by England in February 2026.