🏏 Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:00 BST
Manchester United Women
vs
West Ham Women
4-2-3-1 vs 4-4-2
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Two sides who have stumbled out of the blocks meet in the bottom half of the table. Manchester United are 13th on one point from three games with a goal difference of minus six, while West Ham sit ninth on three points from one win and two defeats. With Manchester City already on 12 points from four matches, this is the first realistic chance for either team to change the mood of their season.
- United's opening three fixtures have been unforgiving: a 2-1 defeat away at London City Lionesses, a 5-0 home hammering by Chelsea and a 1-1 draw at Arsenal that delivered their only point of the campaign, earned on the road. Eight goals conceded leave them with a minus-six goal difference, bettered in the bottom three only by pointless Charlton Athletic on minus nine.
- West Ham began with a 3-1 loss at Tottenham before beating London City Lionesses — now second in the table — 2-1 at home for their first win of the season. That momentum stalled with a 1-0 home defeat to Everton, and three goals in three matches underlines a side still hunting a reliable scoring pattern away from home.
- Katie Zelem returns to the club she captained. The 30-year-old holding midfielder is Manchester United Women's third-highest scorer and their second-highest appearance maker, and her set-piece delivery and tempo control from deep are the clearest threats to a defence that has already shipped eight goals. Ebony Salmon, 25, another former United forward, waits on the West Ham bench.
- There is a Japan international subplot on both sides. Hinata Miyazawa, the 26-year-old right winger who won the Golden Boot at the 2023 Women's World Cup, starts for United. Opposite her is Saki Kumagai, the 35-year-old Nadeshiko Japan captain with more than 162 caps and 19 trophies at Lyon including five Champions Leagues, deployed in West Ham's midfield band despite being a centre-back by trade. Yu Endo, a right-back with 171 appearances across 15 years at Urawa Reds, is among the visiting substitutes.
- United's 4-2-3-1 against West Ham's 3-4-3 makes central midfield the decisive battleground. Julia Zigiotti Olme, the 28-year-old Sweden international who won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, anchors the United double pivot ahead of Ella Toone, 27, a EURO 2022 winner who supplies the forward thrust from the number ten role. West Ham answer with Zelem alongside Oona Siren, 25, a Finland international who won back-to-back national championships with KuPS.
- The burden of ending United's goal drought falls on two attackers. Elisabeth Terland, 25, scored 13 WSL goals at Brighton to finish joint-second in the Golden Boot race and remains a Norway international with sharp movement in the box. Jess Park, 24, is a EURO 2025 winner with England who arrived from Manchester City on a four-year deal in September 2025 and brings creativity from the right. Just two goals in three games makes their connection essential.
- West Ham's front three offers three distinct profiles. Kelly Gago, 27, stands 178cm tall, joined from Nantes and wins her share of aerial duels. Viviane Asseyi, 32, has more than 60 France caps and spells at Bayern Munich and Montpellier behind her, and remains a direct dribbler on the left. Seraina Piubel, 26, was Swiss Women's Super League Player of the Year in 2023-24 after four consecutive titles with Zurich. United's back four will need to cover a lot of ground.
- The goalkeeping matchup is worth watching too. United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce, 29, is a 185cm United States international who shared the WSL Golden Glove in 2024-25 with 13 clean sheets. West Ham counter with 180cm Constance Picaud, 28, formerly of Paris Saint-Germain. United have already conceded five in a single match this season and West Ham three on the opening weekend, so both are looking to rediscover solidity.
- Bench strength could decide the closing stages. United can call on Lea Schuller, the 28-year-old Germany striker who was Bundesliga top scorer with Bayern Munich, plus Rebeca Bernal, the Mexico captain signed at the end of August, and Monica Jusu Bah, a winger bought for around 400,000 pounds. West Ham hold back Laia Codina, the 26-year-old Spain centre-back who won the 2023 World Cup, and Leila Wandeler, a 20-year-old Switzerland forward developed at Lyon.