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Team news
Arsenal’s record signing Olivia Smith goes straight into the starting XI. With Leah Williamson injured, the teenager Katie Reid starts in defence.
LCL have a number of debutants, including Katie Zelem and Nikita Parris – but not the injured Danielle van de Donk or Grace Geyoro, whose signing was not registered in time for this weekend’s fixtures.
Arsenal (poss 4-2-3-1) Van Domselaar; Fox, Reid, Catley, McCabe; Little, Pelova; Kelly, Caldentey, Smith; Russo.
Subs: Zinsberger, Wubben-Moy, Codina, Mead, Maanum, Foord, Hinds, Blackstenius, Cooney-Cross.
London City Lionesses (poss 3-5-1-1) Lete; Fernandez, Linari, Kennedy; Parris, Imuran, Zelem, Perez, Kumagai; Asllani; Goodwin.
Subs: Orman, Goldie, Corrales, Jakobsson, Franssi, Roddar, Lindstrom, Sangare, Henson.
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Updated at 07.58 EDT
Suzanne Wrack is chatting all things WSL on our sibling blog, Matchday Live. Here’s her take on London City Lionesses’ dramatic rise.
Given Michele Kang’s ongoing commitment and deep pockets I think we can say with a decent degree of certainty that London City Lionesses will be a serious force within the next few years. Top four this season is probably a stretch, but anything’s possible. The squad is stacked with top level experience and upcoming talent but it could take some time for them to gel and settle. That’s where teams bidding to break into the top four have fallen short before. Each team that has finished fifth in the last few years, has bought the following summer with ambitions of breaking into the top four but have struggled with the high turnover of players and fallen way short.
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Preamble
The European champions start their season today. And they’re not even the talk of the town. London City Lionesses, who were only founded in 2019, have made a splash by signing a host of stars ahead of their first season in the WSL. Yesterday they signed Grace Geyoro for a reported world-record fee, and it’s hard to recall any team in English football history who have started their first top-flight season with such an eye-catching squad.
There’s no I in team, though, and at this stage we have no idea how LCL’s revamped squad will gel. The best-case scenario is that they smash the glass ceiling and break into the top four; it’s also possible that reality bites and fifth place becomes their short-term ambition. Today will provide some clues. If they can hold their own away to the European champions, there will be little to fear.
Arsenal broke the world record earlier in the summer to sign Olivia Smith from Liverpool. Chloe Kelly has also returned to the club on a permanent deal, with the addition of Taylor Hinds and Anneke Borbe completing a good window’s work. All told, the air at the Emirates Stadium is thick with optimism and hope.
Kick off 1.30pm.
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