🏏 Sun, 13 Sep 2026 18:30 BST
Aston Villa Women
vs
Manchester City Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Matchday 2 in the WSL, with both clubs still only one game into the season. Aston Villa drew 1-1 away at Chelsea on the opening weekend to sit 10th on a single point, while Manchester City beat Birmingham City 3-1 at home for three points and sixth place. Chelsea already lead on four points from two matches, so with a game in hand each, both sides here have a chance to make early ground.
- Five Japan internationals are involved, making this one of the most Japanese-flavoured fixtures on the WSL calendar. Villa start Akane Okuma in goal wearing No. 23 with striker Maya Hijikata among the substitutes, while City name Ayaka Yamashita, Yui Hasegawa and Aoba Fujino in their starting eleven — meaning a Japan international goalkeeper stands in each net.
- That goalkeeping duel is a genuine draw. Yamashita, 30, was named best goalkeeper at the 2026 Asian Cup and is prized for her reflexes and positional calm. Okuma earned her Japan call-up on the back of her form at INAC Kobe Leonessa and arrived as one of three goalkeepers Villa signed this summer, so she is still in the middle of a competition for the gloves.
- The midfield is a straight two-against-two. City pair Japan captain Yui Hasegawa, a 29-year-old holding midfielder who reached 100 appearances for the club after spells at West Ham and AC Milan, with 25-year-old Denmark international Laura Blindkilde. Villa counter with Justine Kielland, the 23-year-old Norway anchor signed from Wolfsburg in July who scored four goals in all 12 Champions League matches during her Brann days, alongside 22-year-old Lucia Kendall, a Southampton centurion who was named player of the match on her England debut in October 2025.
- Aoba Fujino's work down the left is worth the admission. The 22-year-old winger became Japan's youngest scorer at the 2023 World Cup and won the WE League MVP award twice as a dribbler. Facing her is a Villa back line containing two right-back types: Lynn Wilms, the 25-year-old Netherlands international with 56 caps and a Champions League final on her CV from Wolfsburg, and Noelle Maritz, the 30-year-old Swiss defender formerly of Arsenal and Wolfsburg.
- Up front for City is Jamaica captain Khadija Shaw, a 29-year-old who has rewritten WSL scoring records using her 180cm frame and a shot in either foot. Villa answer with Mathilde Harviken, the 24-year-old Norway centre-back signed from Juventus this summer who has played at the 2023 World Cup and Euro 2025, and 178cm Republic of Ireland international Anna Patten, 27, an Arsenal academy graduate.
- Set pieces could decide it. City captain Alex Greenwood, 33 and a centurion for England, is a left-footed centre-back who takes the penalties, free-kicks and corners. Villa have their own delivery threat in Wilms, with aerially strong defenders such as Lucy Parker, 27, and Patten waiting as targets in the box.
- Villa's front line is essentially their summer recruitment drive on show. Mia McAulay, a 19-year-old Scotland international, made her Rangers debut at 16 and played more than 100 games there before moving; Denmark forward Amalie Vangsgaard wears No. 20 after stints at Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus; and C. Grant arrives via Ajax. All three line up against City's back four.
- The benches are contrasting but deep. City can call on Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner Beth Mead, 31 and formerly of Arsenal, 22-year-old England midfielder Grace Clinton who came through Manchester United and Tottenham, and USA holding midfielder Sam Coffey, signed from the Portland Thorns in January 2026. Villa have Milly Taylor, 26, a Chelsea youth product with Arsenal and Angel City behind her who switched to Scotland in 2025, plus France centre-back Océane Deslandes, 26, who made 66 appearances and scored four goals for Montpellier.
- Keep an eye on Maya Hijikata among Villa's substitutes. The 22-year-old striker helped Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza to a WE League title with seven goals and six assists, finished runner-up at the 2022 U-20 Women's World Cup and won gold at the 2023 Asian Games. Fujino, in City's attack, came through the same Beleza pathway, so two graduates of the club find themselves on opposite sides tonight.