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West Ham United welcome London City Lionesses to Chigwell Construction Stadium on Saturday looking for their first points of the 2026/27 Women’s Super League season. The two sides had contrasting opening weekends. West Ham were beaten 3-1 by Tottenham Hotspur despite making a promising start to the match, while London City marked their first game of the season with an impressive 2-1 victory over Manchester United. Saturday therefore provides an early test of how quickly West Ham’s heavily changed squad can respond, particularly against a London City team that already looked remarkably settled despite their own major summer rebuild. West Ham United vs London City Lionesses match information Competition: Barclays Women’s Super League Date: Saturday 12 September 2026 Kick-off: 12:45pm BST / 13:45pm CEST Venue: Chigwell Construction Stadium TV: Sky Sports Watching from outside the UK? Try W-Sport or the Barclays WSL YouTube. How to watch West Ham vs London City Lionesses The match will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports, with Sky Sports Premier League carrying the fixture. Sky Sports is showing the vast majority of WSL matches during the 2026/27 season, while selected fixtures are also available through the Sky Sports WSL YouTube channel. Availability on YouTube can vary, however, particularly depending on broadcast rights in individual countries. Supporters outside the UK should therefore check local listings, with W-Sport and other international broadcasters carrying WSL coverage in selected territories. West Ham looking for a response The final score against Tottenham did not tell the whole story of West Ham’s opening game. Rita Guarino’s side started positively and enjoyed plenty of possession during the opening stages. Riko Ueki had an early effort deflected towards Lize Kop, while Nadine Riesen and Viviane Asseyi combined effectively down West Ham’s left. The problem was turning that promising football into goals. Tottenham punished West Ham when Signe Gaupset opened the scoring after 18 minutes before Kirsty Hanson doubled the advantage 12 minutes later. Hanson eventually added her second of the afternoon in the second half. Guarino acknowledged afterwards that West Ham had started the match as intended but had failed to finish the opportunities they created. There were at least positives late in the game. Deadline-day signing Saki Kumagai came off the bench just a day after joining the club and needed little time to make an impact, releasing Asseyi for West Ham’s stoppage-time consolation. Kelly Gago also made her West Ham debut at half-time and provided a stronger presence in attack after replacing Ebony Salmon. Those performances give Guarino some early selection decisions ahead of the first home league game of the season. West Ham team news It is still too early in the week for definitive injury and availability updates ahead of Saturday’s match. Kumagai should have considerably more preparation time after making her debut against Tottenham less than 48 hours after completing her move. Her experience and immediate impact make her a serious candidate for a first West Ham start. Gago could also challenge Salmon for a place in attack after her second-half performance against Spurs. Fresh team news will be added here following the managers’ pre-match updates later in the week. Predicted West Ham lineup Picaud-Inconnu; Endo, Codina, Cascarino, Riesen; Kumagai, Zelem; Piubel, Asseyi, Gago; Ueki. Predicted lineup will be updated following the latest team news. London City already showing their quality If West Ham’s opening result contained encouragement despite defeat, London City’s contained a much clearer statement. Eder Maestre’s side beat Manchester United 2-1 in Bromley and controlled significant periods of the match. Eight summer signings started, but there were few signs of a team struggling to integrate so many new players. London City went ahead after nine minutes when Alanna Kennedy met Janni Thomsen’s cross, with the final touch coming off Manchester United midfielder Julia Zigiotti Olme. They could have extended their lead much earlier. Rosa Kafaji had an effort cleared off the line following a Delphine Cascarino run, while Lucía Corrales repeatedly caused problems from the left. Kennedy and Kafaji also tested Phallon Tullis-Joyce after the interval. Daniëlle van de Donk eventually made it 2-0 in the 82nd minute with an inventive finish from a Cascarino corner before Simi Awujo scored a late consolation for United. Maestre was pleased with the cohesion of his new-look side but also identified the obvious area for improvement: London City could have been more clinical. That could be significant against West Ham. The Hammers had spells of control against Tottenham but were punished once they started allowing their opponents space. Giving the same opportunities to a London City attack containing Cascarino, Kafaji, Van de Donk and Alexia Putellas could be costly. For a closer look at London City’s opening performance, read our London City Lionesses 2-1 Manchester United match report. London City Lionesses team news There is currently no reason to anticipate major changes from the side that started against Manchester United. Mapi León and Kennedy formed the central defensive partnership, with Corrales and Thomsen providing the width from the full-back positions. Grace Geyoro operated alongside Putellas and Van de Donk in a hugely experienced midfield, while Kafaji and Cascarino were particularly dangerous further forward. Unless Maestre provides new injury information later in the week, the opening-day XI provides the strongest indication of how London City could line up at West Ham. Predicted London City Lionesses lineup Lete; Thomsen, Kennedy, León, Corrales; Geyoro, Putellas, Van de Donk; Kafaji, Cascarino, Kardinaal. Predicted lineup will be updated following the latest team news. What to expect West Ham’s ability to make their periods of possession count could decide how competitive this match becomes. They showed against Tottenham that Guarino’s new-look team can control the ball and build attacks, particularly through Riesen and Asseyi on the left. What they did not do was turn those promising situations into enough clear chances or goals. London City demonstrated the opposite against Manchester United. They imposed themselves early, created opportunities from both open play and set pieces and repeatedly forced Tullis-Joyce into action. Even after winning 2-1, Maestre felt his side should have been more clinical. West Ham therefore cannot afford another spell like the one that changed their opening game. Once Tottenham scored twice in 12 minutes, Guarino’s side were chasing the match. Kumagai could become important in preventing that from happening again. After having virtually no preparation time before her debut, a full week working with her new teammates should give West Ham another experienced option in the middle of the pitch. London City, meanwhile, have already provided an early indication that their collection of high-profile summer signings may not require as much time to settle as expected. These sides met twice in the WSL last season, with West Ham failing to beat London City on either occasion. London City won 1-0 at home in October before the return fixture at West Ham finished 1-1 in March. Prediction West Ham should offer more at home than the 3-1 scoreline at Tottenham suggests, and there were encouraging signs in their opening 20 minutes. London City nevertheless arrive with considerable attacking quality and, more importantly, already showed against Manchester United that they can turn that quality into a cohesive team performance. West Ham will have opportunities, but London City look the stronger side at this early stage. Prediction: West Ham United 1-2 London City Lionesses Match preview: West Ham United vs London City Lionesses