🏏 Sat, 26 Sep 2026 17:00 BST
London City Lionesses
vs
Brighton Women
4-2-3-1 vs 5-4-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- London City arrive fourth on six points from three matches, with two wins, one defeat and a goal difference of plus three. Brighton sit 10th on two points, still without a win at 0-2-1 and a goal difference of minus one. With Manchester City already on 12 points from four games at the top, the hosts need to keep pace while the visitors are simply hunting a first victory of the campaign.
- The two sides come in on contrasting runs. London City read W-L-W: a 2-1 home win over Manchester United on the opening weekend, a 1-2 defeat away at West Ham, then a 4-1 win at Charlton to steady the ship. Brighton read L-D-D, losing 0-1 at home to Arsenal before back-to-back draws, 2-2 away at Birmingham City and 1-1 at home to Aston Villa.
- The midfield battle pairs two of the division's marquee names. Grace Geyoro, a France international with 102 caps who made 270 appearances and scored 54 goals as PSG captain, anchors the London City double pivot alongside Daniela Arques, signed from Sporting CP. Brighton counter with Lia Wälti, the Switzerland captain who spent seven years at Arsenal and won the 2024-25 Champions League there before arriving from Juventus in July 2026.
- London City's attacking band is stacked. Alexia Putellas, signed from Barcelona, lines up alongside Danielle van de Donk, the Netherlands midfielder who was central to their 2017 European Championship triumph and has spells at Arsenal and Lyon behind her, plus Kadidiatou Diani, who took the Silver Boot at the 2023 World Cup, finished as Champions League top scorer in 2023-24 and cost in excess of £500,000 from Lyon. Freya Godfrey, called into the senior England squad for the first time in February 2026, leads the line.
- Brighton set up in a 5-4-1, with Ireland centre-back Caitlin Hayes, signed from Celtic in January 2025, and left-footed Colombia international Manuela Vanegas in the back line. Behind them stands Chiamaka Nnadozie, Nigeria's first-choice goalkeeper at 180cm and winner of the 2025 CAF Award. Whether she can repel a London City attack assembled at record cost is the defining question of the afternoon.
- Japan international Takako Seike starts at number 11, deployed in a wide role within the back five. She scored the first hat-trick on debut in WSL history and swept the scoring title, MVP award and Best XI in the 2023-24 WE League before joining in 2024; her ability to fill every outfield position explains this deployment. Mao Minami, her former Urawa team-mate and the Japan centre-back who signed permanently in June 2025, is not in the matchday squad.
- Two players on the London City bench face a former club. Left-back Poppy Pattinson came through spells at Brighton, Everton, Bristol City and Manchester City before earning her first senior England call-up in February 2026, and brings an attacking left foot from wide areas. Nikita Parris, also a former Brighton player, won Euro 2022 with England and has Lyon, Arsenal and Manchester City on her CV, offering explosive pace from the right.
- Brighton's creativity runs through Fran Kirby, the two-time PFA Players' Player of the Year nicknamed Mini Messi after a trophy-laden career at Chelsea. She is joined in the midfield four by Jelena Čanković, a Serbia international who won back-to-back WSL titles at Chelsea and also played for Barcelona, and by Maisie Symonds, the Chelsea academy graduate appointed Brighton captain in summer 2025.
- Dario Vidosic also has genuine options in reserve. Norway's Olaug Tvedten, a two-time Toppserien top scorer with 52 goals in four seasons and the league's Player of the Year in 2024, arrived in January 2026. Alongside her sits Sophie Peskett, the right winger who registered five goals and five assists in 21 WSL2 appearances last season and joined from Ipswich Town for a club-record fee in July 2026.