🏏 Sun, 4 Oct 2026 14:00 BST
Tottenham Hotspur Women
vs
London City Lionesses
4-2-3-1 vs 4-2-3-1
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- Second against fourth, separated by a single point. Tottenham are unbeaten on 10 points from four matches with a division-best goal difference of +13, while London City Lionesses sit fourth on nine from three wins and one defeat. Manchester City lead on 12 and Chelsea are third on 10 with +8, so the shape of the top four could change by full time. The two clubs have not met yet this season.
- Japan international Toko Koga starts at centre-back for Spurs at the age of 20. Signed from Feyenoord in July 2025, she became the club's youngest ever scorer at 19 and started all four of Japan's matches at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Tottenham have conceded only twice in four league games, and Koga's aerial strength and build-up play will be examined by Kadidiatou Diani and Alexia Putellas.
- London City's recruitment has been the loudest in the league. Grace Geyoro arrived from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported record fee of around €1m, bringing 102 France caps and a PSG record of 270 appearances and 54 goals. Diani followed from Lyon in July 2026 for more than £500,000, having claimed the Silver Boot at the 2023 World Cup and finished as top scorer in the 2023-24 Champions League.
- Both teams set up in a 4-2-3-1, so the double pivots will decide who controls the middle third. Spurs pair 33-year-old Jamaica international Drew Spence, a long-serving former Chelsea midfielder, with Netherlands international Victoria Pelova, previously of Arsenal and Ajax. London City answer with Geyoro alongside Daniela Arques, signed from Sporting CP, and Putellas plus 35-year-old Danielle van de Donk, a Euro 2017 winner with the Netherlands, stationed ahead of them.
- Tottenham have scored 15 goals in four games, including a 7-0 win away at Crystal Palace in round three and a 4-0 home victory over Aston Villa in round four. Katinka Tandberg, the 22-year-old Norwegian striker signed from Hammarby in September 2025, leads the line. On the left is Denmark's Olivia Holt, who scored 25 goals in 47 games at Rosengård and marked her Spurs debut with a free-kick goal.
- The wide duels carry real pedigree. Julie Blakstad, once the subject of a record fee for a Norwegian player when she joined Manchester City, arrived at Spurs in January 2026 and attacks from the left. Scotland's Kirsty Hanson, capped 42 times and a former Manchester United winger, offers direct running on the other flank. Opposite them is 20-year-old Lucía Corrales, a La Masia graduate who made her senior Spain debut in March 2025 after a move worth around £430,000.
- London City's back line has a strong Spanish accent. Mapi León, 31, brings Atlético Madrid and Barcelona experience, while Jana Fernández spent 12 years in the Barcelona system and made 94 appearances, winning five Liga F titles and two Champions Leagues. They are joined by Isa Kardinaal, the 21-year-old Netherlands centre-back who debuted in the Eredivisie at 16, with 173cm Spanish goalkeeper Elene Lete behind them.
- Both benches could swing this. London City can introduce Euro 2022 winner Nikita Parris, Delphine Cascarino with her 223 games and 45 goals at Lyon and six Champions League titles, 2023 World Cup winner María Pérez and England goalkeeper Mary Earps. Tottenham keep back Finland's Eveliina Summanen, the club's record WSL assist provider, and Germany forward Shekiera Martinez, who was top scorer at the 2018 U17 Euros with nine goals.
- London City's only defeat came in round two, losing 2-1 away at West Ham. They responded with a 4-1 win at Charlton and a 2-0 home victory over Brighton, having opened the season by beating Manchester United 2-1. Nine points and a goal difference of +5 have them fourth, but a trip to an unbeaten side carrying the best goal difference in the division is comfortably their toughest assignment so far.