🏏 Sun, 6 Sep 2026 14:30 BST
Manchester City Women
vs
Birmingham City W
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- The WSL opens its first season as a 14-club division, and reigning champions Manchester City begin at the Joie Stadium against newly promoted Birmingham City. City lifted the 2025-26 title in Andrée Jeglertz's debut campaign, their first in ten years and the end of Chelsea's run of six consecutive championships. Birmingham arrive as WSL 2 champions under Amy Merricks.
- Three Japan internationals start for City. Goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita, 30, was named best goalkeeper at the 2026 Asian Cup and is valued for her reaction speed and positioning. In front of her sits Nadeshiko captain Yui Hasegawa, a 157cm defensive midfielder who has already passed 100 appearances for the club and sets the tempo with her passing accuracy.
- Aoba Fujino, 22, came through Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza and won the WE League MVP award twice before moving to England. She scored Japan's youngest-ever World Cup goal at the 2023 tournament. Right-footed but happiest attacking from the left, she competes for the same territory as England's Lauren Hemp, 26, a left-footed winger whose pace makes that flank City's most dangerous.
- The headline duel is Khadija Shaw against a promoted back line. The 180cm Jamaica captain, 29, finished as the league's leading scorer in 2025-26 using both feet and a dominant aerial game. Birmingham answer with 178cm centre-back Millie Turner, 30, flanked by Herron and McKenna in a three designed to crowd the middle.
- Set pieces belong to City captain Alex Greenwood. The 32-year-old left-footed centre-back reached 100 England caps and takes penalties, free-kicks and corners. Spells at Olympique Lyonnais, Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton give her the experience — and the long left-footed switch — to unlock a visiting side likely to sit deep.
- City's defence has a fresh look. Netherlands right-back Kerstin Casparij, 26, joined from FC Twente as the successor to Lucy Bronze and overlaps aggressively with good delivery. Alongside her are Canada's Jade Rose, 23 and 178cm, signed from San Diego Wave FC, and 21-year-old academy graduate Gracie Prior, an England Under-23 international.
- Birmingham's midfield is stacked with internationals. Norway's Lisa Naalsund, 31, is a box-to-box central midfielder who won back-to-back Norwegian titles with SK Brann and thrives on running power and late arrivals in the box. Beside her are Lee Geum-min, born in 1994 and a long-serving South Korea international, and 23-year-old Wilma Leidhammar, developed at Norrköping in Sweden.
- The visiting front line is not short of top-flight mileage either. Veatriki Sarri, 28, of Greece has played WSL football with Brighton and Everton, while France's Océane Hurtré, 22, has already featured for Paris Saint-Germain, Bordeaux and Dijon in the French first division. Crosswaite, signed from second-tier Durham after helping win WSL 2, completes the attacking group.
- Birmingham also have a Japanese defender on the bench in Asato Miyagawa, 28. Born in 1998, she came through Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza and spent time with Hammarby in Sweden before this move, making her one of the few players who knows both the Japanese league and European football. If she comes on, she shares the pitch with City's Japanese trio.
- City's substitutes carry real weight. Beth Mead, 31, the Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner, brings sharp inside cuts and quality crossing from the right after years at Arsenal and Sunderland. United States midfielder Sam Coffey, 27, arrived from the Portland Thorns in January 2026 and offers a controlling anchor option if the game needs settling.