West Ham United women's team begin the 2024/25 Barclays Women's Super League season against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime.
Rehanne Skinner has handed competitive debuts to Kinga Szemik, Camila Sáez and Li Mengwen for the opening game of the new campaign, with the manager naming the side she will hope can make a positive start in the North West.
The Hammers are hoping to pick up their first ever point at the Theatre of Dreams, having played at the ground twice previously in 2021 and 2023.
The aforementioned Szemik starts between the posts, having impressed during pre-season at the Perth International Football Cup.
It looks as though Skinner has opted to play a back five, with Anouk Denton and Mengwen in the wing-back positions, whilst Shannon Cooke, Amber Tysiak and Sáez completing the defence.
Dagný Brynjarsdóttir starts in midfield, her first competitive action since May 2023, having given birth to her second child, Andreas, in February of this year. She is partnered in the middle of the park by new Hammers captain Katrina Gorry who will lead the team out for the first time.
In attack, a trio of Emma Harries, Riko Ueki and Viviane Asseyi will look to cause issues for the home side, with the latter scoring in a 1-1 draw back in March 2024 when the two sides last met.
On the bench, Skinner has plenty of options, including new signings Oona Siren, Manuela Paví and Seraina Piubel, plus the returning Shelina Zadorsky, who made her loan move from Tottenham Hotspur permanent this summer. Megan Walsh, Marika Bergman Lundin, Kristie Mewis, Halle Houssein and round off the nine-strong substitutes bench.
Rehanne Skinner confirmed in her pre-match press conference that Kirsty Smith would be unavailable for the meeting against her former side.
You can watch the match live on the Official WSL YouTube Channel, or you can also follow the action across our social media channels, while highlights and exclusive reaction will follow after the final whistle on whufc.com.
West Ham United: Szemik, Denton, Tysiak, Cooke, Sáez, Mengwen, Gorry ©, Brynjarsdóttir, Harries, Ueki, Asseyi.
Subs: M.Walsh (GK), Siren, Bergman Lundin, Paví, Zadorsky, Mewis, Houssein, Piubel.
Manchester United: Tullis-Joyce, Le Tissier ©, Toone, Clinton, Galton, Riviere, Naalsund, Janssen, Terland, Turner, Geyse.
Subs: Middleton-Patel (GK), George, Mannion, Malard, Ladd, Awujo, Bizet, Miyazawa, Williams.
Referee: Cheryl Foster
