🏏 Sat, 26 Sep 2026 13:30 BST
Charlton Athletic W
vs
Manchester City Women
4-1-4-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Top meets bottom in south London. Manchester City arrive with a perfect nine points from three games, a +7 goal difference and 11 goals scored — 3-1 at home to Birmingham City, 4-1 away at Aston Villa and 4-2 against Liverpool. Charlton sit 14th and last on zero points, having scored once and conceded nine for a league-worst -8 difference.
- Charlton came up through the playoffs and are playing their first ever WSL season, but the opening weeks have been brutal: a 0-4 home defeat to Liverpool and a 1-4 loss at home to London City Lionesses. Goalkeeper Whitehouse, who joined from Lewes and won the WSL2 Golden Glove last term, and centre-back Elisha N'Dow — retained from the promotion squad — face the immediate task of stemming the flow.
- City goalkeeper Eartha Cumings returns to a former club. The 27-year-old Scotland international came through spells at Charlton, Sheffield United and Liverpool before joining City in the summer of 2025, and now lines up against the side whose goal she once protected. Her shot-stopping has been built across several WSL dressing rooms, and she will know plenty of faces in the opposite half.
- City's left wing belongs to 22-year-old Aoba Fujino. The Japan international came through Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza, scored Japan's youngest ever Women's World Cup goal in 2023 and was twice named WE League MVP as a dribbler who thrives cutting in from the left. She goes up against Grace Johnston, Charlton's 21-year-old right-back who played every minute for Perth Glory last season and was named the club's 2026 Young Player of the Year before moving to London.
- Japan captain Yui Hasegawa starts on the bench. The 29-year-old defensive midfielder reached 100 appearances for City after spells at West Ham United and AC Milan, and her positional sense and passing accuracy give City a way to calm any game. Alongside her sit Jamaica captain Khadija Shaw — 180cm and two-footed — and England winger Lauren Hemp, meaning the pressure on Charlton's back four only grows as the clock runs.
- Charlton's 4-1-4-1 meets City's 4-2-3-1, and the midfield exchange will shape everything. The home side field Emily van Egmond, the 33-year-old Australia international with 163 caps and two Bundesliga titles won at Wolfsburg, alongside 25-year-old Leah Davidson, who arrived this summer after six years at Melbourne City. City counter with a double pivot of USA international Sam Coffey, 27, signed from Portland Thorns in January 2026, and Denmark's 25-year-old Laura Blindkilde.
- Alex Greenwood marshals the City back line as captain. The 33-year-old has 100 England caps and takes the penalties, free-kicks and corners with her left foot, which turns every set piece into a scoring chance. Beside her are two younger centre-backs: Canada international Jade Rose, 23 and 178cm tall, and 21-year-old academy graduate Gracie Prior, an England Under-23 defender.
- Mary Fowler leads the City line. The 23-year-old Australia forward combines pace, technique and finishing, arriving via Montpellier and Adelaide United, and is still working her way back to full sharpness after an ACL injury. Behind her, 22-year-old Grace Clinton — previously at Manchester United and Tottenham — operates as the England international number ten looking to receive between the lines.
- Beth Mead occupies the right flank. The 31-year-old winger, top scorer at Euro 2022 and a long-time Arsenal regular, is dangerous cutting inside to shoot and delivers high-quality crosses, while her off-the-ball movement stretches back lines. Overlapping behind her is Kerstin Casparij, the 26-year-old Netherlands right-back signed from FC Twente as Lucy Bronze's successor, giving City the chance to create overloads down Charlton's left.
- Charlton's lone striker is 25-year-old Lorena Azzaro, a French forward who arrived via Paris FC and RC Strasbourg. With the team having managed just one goal in three matches, she is the focal point of everything the hosts build. Whether the four-strong midfield line can push up quickly enough to support her — and whether Azzaro can hold the ball against City's centre-backs — will determine if Charlton get any foothold at all.