It will be Arsenal vs London City Lionesses on the opening weekend of the Women’s Super League season, and ahead of Saturday’s clash, we give our prediction in the preview for the match between the European champions and the newly promoted Lionesses.
Arsenal vs London City Lionesses match facts
- ⚽️ Arsenal vs London City Lionesses
- 🏟️ Emirates Stadium
- ⏱️ Saturday, September 6th: 13:30pm (BST) – BBC One
Arsenal vs London City Lionesses preview
The Gunners launch their push for the Women’s Super League title against newly promoted London City Lionesses on Saturday.
The Gunners, crowned European champions after a 1-0 victory over Barcelona in May, aim to end Chelsea’s dominance of the WSL, where the Blues have claimed six consecutive titles since Arsenal’s last triumph in 2019. Chelsea also completed an unbeaten domestic treble last season.
Typically, Arsenal would be expected to secure a comfortable win against a team freshly promoted from WSL 2.
However, London City Lionesses, backed by owner Michele Kang, have shown bold ambition for their debut WSL season.
At the time of writing, they have made 15 signings, including Nikita Parris from Brighton and former Arsenal players Teyah Goldie and Freya Godfrey.
Arsenal have only signed four players in comparison, but have made the biggest signing of the summer with Olivia Smith’s £1m move from Liverpool.
With the Lionesses eager to make an immediate impact, Arsenal may face a tougher challenge than expected in Saturday’s encounter.
The season starts here, Gooners 👊 pic.twitter.com/ySgsHtdAIv
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) September 1, 2025
Arsenal vs London City Lionesses team news
Arsenal will be without Leah Williamson after the defender underwent a minor knee surgery following England’s Euro 2025 success this summer.
The Gunners also bid farewell to Lia Walti who announced on Thursday that she was leaving after seven years with the club.
Beth Mead is likely to come back in for the Gunners after coming off the bench during their pre-season win over West Ham.
Frida Maanum made a big impact off the bench against the Hammers and is also pushing to make the starting XI.
New signing Olivia Smith is likely to contend with a place on the bench.
Nikita Parris and Danielle van de Donk are among the new signings who could make the starting lineup against Arsenal.
London City Lionesses head coach Jocelyn Precheur is likely to put out an attacking formation, emphasising that his side have nothing to lose in their WSL opener.
Lights. Camera. London City Lionesses.📸@BarclaysWSL pic.twitter.com/DC0AcWRDa1
— London City Lionesses (@LC_Lionesses) September 2, 2025
Predicted lineups
Arsenal: Van Domselaar; Fox, Wubben-Moy, Catley, Hinds; Little, Caldentey; Mead, Maanum, Kelly; Russo
London City Lionesses: Lete; Brown, Wilde, Linari, Imuran; Perez, Kumagai; Goodwin, Parris, Van de Donk; Asllani
Arsenal vs Lionesses predicted score
Arsenal must guard against complacency in their WSL opener against a London City Lionesses side bolstered by impressive summer signings.
However, with so many new players, the Lionesses may need time to build team chemistry.
With that in mind, our prediction for Arsenal vs London City Lionesses is a 3-1 victory for the Gunners.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 London City Lionesses
