Man City Women v Brighton & Hove Albion Women preview: kick-off time, team news and form

Manchester City Women host Brighton & Hove Albion Women at the Joie Stadium on Sunday 18th October, with kick-off at 2.30pm, as the Women's Super League action continues.

There's plenty at stake for City, who sit second in the table on 15 points from five games, level on wins with league leaders Chelsea but trailing them by just a single point. A victory here would keep the pressure on at the top and extend an unbeaten start to the league campaign. Brighton, by contrast, find themselves down in 11th with five points from five matches, having won just one of their opening fixtures, so they'll be looking for a result that lifts them away from the lower reaches of the table.

Form-wise, City go into the weekend having won three and drawn two of their last five across competitions, with recent league wins over Liverpool, Charlton Athletic and Arsenal showing their attacking threat, though a couple of draws in the Champions League against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid suggest they haven't had it all their own way domestically either. Overall this season City have scored 16 goals and conceded just six, underlining the strength at both ends of the pitch.

Brighton's recent form reads one win, two defeats, a draw and a win across their last five outings, including a heavy 5-1 league win over Charlton Athletic in their last outing, but they have also suffered defeats to London City Lionesses and Tottenham Hotspur in the WSL Players Cup. They've scored eight and conceded seven in the league so far this season, a far more modest return than their hosts.

In terms of the squads, City's named starting line-up features Ayaka Yamashita in goal behind a back line of Alex Greenwood, Jade Rose, Niamh Charles and Kerstin Casparij, with Grace Clinton, Yui Hasegawa and Laura Blindkilde Brown supporting Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp and Aoba Fujino further forward. Options from the bench include Mary Fowler, Iman Beney and Laura Wienroither among others.

Brighton will look to Chiamaka Nnadozie between the posts, protected by Manuela Vanegas, Caitlin Hayes, Gabby George and Marit Auée, with Fran Kirby pulling the strings in midfield alongside Maisie Symonds and Jelena Cankovic, and Kiko Seike leading the line supported by Olaug Tvedten and Olivia Garcia. Sophie Peskett and Bex Rayner are among those available to come off the bench.

Kick-off at the Joie Stadium is 2.30pm UK time on Sunday 18th October.

Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.