Niamh Charles is also set to make her full debut as one of three changes from our 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on Thursday evening, while captain Alex Greenwood is set to make her 200th WSL appearance.
The other change sees Sam Coffey come into the midfield alongside Yui Hasegawa, with Laura Blindkilde Brown, Kerstin Casparij and Mary Fowler among the substitutes.
Teams
City XI: Yamashita, Wamser, Rose, Greenwood (C), Charles, Coffey, Hasegawa, Mead, Fujino, Hemp, Shaw.
Subs: Cumings, Clinton, Fowler, Wienroither, Casparij, Blindkilde Brown, Beney, Prior, Davies.
Arsenal XI: Borbe, Fox, Wubben-Moy, Stanway, Williamson, Caldentey, Little (C), Baum, Batlle, Russo, Cooney-Cross
Arsenal Subs: Misa, Catley, Foord, Smith, Maanum, Reuteler, Blackstenius, Cerci, Holmberg
How we line up
We expect Ayaka Yamashita’s goal to be shielded by a back four of Carlotta Wamser, Jade Rose, Alex Greenwood and Niamh Charles, from right to left.
Sam Coffey and Yui Hasegawa will operate from deep, with an attacking trident of Beth Mead, Aoba Fujino and Lauren Hemp supplying Bunny Shaw up front.
Expect Mead, Fujino and Hemp to interchange throughout the game, with Shaw also dropping in to help link play.
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Familiar foe
Mead’s potential encounter with former club Arsenal has dominated much of the pre-match build-up, and she’s been selected to start this afternoon.
The forward enjoyed a phenomenal nine-year spell in North London, which was brought to an end this summer when she switched to City.
While both she and Head Coach Andrée Jeglertz have made it clear it’ll take time to fully adapt to her new surroundings, our number seven has still enjoyed a strong start to life in Manchester.
Conversely, Georgia Stanway also returns to Manchester to face her former club for the first time.
With 186 appearances and 67 goals, the England international was a key figure for City before her move to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022.
Big game player
England full-back Charles has enjoyed two impressive substitute appearances so far since her return from injury, but this is the ultimate way to make your full debut.
A seasoned international with an incredible list of honours, she joined the Club from Chelsea this summer and certainly won’t be fazed by the big occasion.
A versatile defender capable of operating on either flank, she’s predominantly played on the left so far for the Blues but did briefly feature on the opposite side in midweek.
200 Up
A huge congratulations to City captain Alex Greenwood, who’s set to make her 200th WSL appearance this afternoon against Arsenal.
She’s just the tenth player in the competition’s history to reach the milestone, with 116 of those appearances coming for City.
Shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or and captain of the WSL champions, Greenwood is playing at the top of her game and this latest achievement is just rewards for a stellar career thus far.
Stat Zone
- Manchester City have won their home game against Arsenal in six of the last nine WSL seasons (D1 L2), with those matches averaging 3.9 goals (21 for City, 14 for the Gunners).
- Arsenal vs Manchester City is one of only two WSL fixtures to see both teams win 10+ times, with the Gunners leading the head-to-head 12-11 (2 draws); only Chelsea vs Arsenal (32), Arsenal vs Liverpool (27) and Chelsea vs Liverpool (26) has been played more times in the competition.
- Manchester City will be aiming to win their opening five games of a WSL campaign for the third time after 2017-18 (first 7) and 2016 (6) – of the previous nine to do so overall, seven have finished in the top two positions, though only three have won the title (City in 2016, Arsenal in 2018-19, Chelsea in 2024-25).
- Arsenal are winless in each of their last three league games (D2 L1) and could unwantedly equal their worst runs without victory in the competition, set in May 2014 and October 2023.
- Manchester City have won each of their last 14 home games in the Women’s Super League and could set the outright second longest streak on home turf in the competition, which would sit behind only Chelsea’s run of 22 between March 2022 and February 2024.
- Arsenal are only the third team in WSL history to score two or fewer goals and concede two or fewer goals across their opening four matches, along with Liverpool in 2014 and Chelsea in 2018-19.
- Only Manchester City’s Lauren Hemp (9) has created more chances after a ball carry of 5+ metres than Arsenal’s Lisa Baum (5) in the WSL this season, with that pair of attackers also recording the joint-most shot ending carries in the division (8 each– level with Lauren James).
