Both Brighton and Manchester City will round out their respective season’s, as they face off at Wembley Stadium, with the Adobe Women’s FA Cup up for grabs.
The fixture will be the 56th annual Women’s FA Cup final, and the 11th at Wembley Stadium in a row.
Brighton defeated Liverpool 3-2 away from home in one semi-final, while City won the other with the exact same result at Stamford Bridge.
Last year’s showing saw a Sandy Baltimore masterclass in the capital, as Chelsea comfortably fought off Manchester United 3-0 under the Wembley arch.
While the Women’s Super League season may have come to a close, clubs such as Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Leicester City, London City Lionesses, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham United are all competing in the World Sevens (W7F) competition at the Brentford Community Stadium.
However, both the Seagulls and Citizens have their eyes on one of the most historic prizes in the game – The FA Cup.
The Seagulls:
Dario Vidošić is in the Brighton dugout, as the Croatian manager looks to win his first piece of silverware in his second season of managing Albion.
It was a steady 7th-place finish for the Seagulls, as they accumulated 26 points, and had a five-match unbeaten run in the league from late March to early May.
However, it was a defeat on the final day of the league season at the Amex Stadium, as Spurs defeated Brighton 2-1 in East Sussex.
Sunday will be a chance for Brighton to write their own history, but off the pitch, the club is continuing firmly in the right direction.
On the 28th April is was announced that a £75-£80m bespoke Stadium located at Bennett’s Field (next to the Amex) will be built with a 10,000+ capacity and will hopefully be ready for the start of the 2030/31 season.
Route to the final: Brighton began the competition in the fourth round, where they fought off WSL2 outfit Nottingham Forest in a 2-0 victory on home soil.
They then defeated fellow WSL side West Ham 2-1 away from home in the fifth round, and then went on to beat last season’s Champions League Winners – Arsenal 2-0, at Meadow Park.
Albion then punched their ticket to HA9, with a last-gasp 3-2 victory in the semi-final away to Liverpool, thanks to a 90+5th-minute winner from Nadine Noordam at St Helens Stadium.
The Citizens:
Managed by Andrée Jeglertz it has been a very successful league campaign for Manchester City, after they won their first WSL title in a decade, as they finished the season on 55 points, with a four-point buffer on second-place Arsenal.
The title win not only gave Jeglertz’ side the bragging rights in Manchester, but it also means that City will return to the UEFA Women’s Champions League as of next season.
The WSL Champions were given a huge boost on Monday, when top scorer Khadija “Bunny” Shaw announced that she has signed a new deal that will keep her at the club until 2030.
It was a strong end to an already successful league campaign, as City earned a 4-1 victory on the final day of the league season away at West Ham United, with Shaw bagging a brace and Laura Coombs scoring her final ever WSL goal.
After the FA Cup final, Coombs will be hanging up her boots on a playing career that has spanned almost two decades, making 126 appearances for City in eight years, scoring 16 goals.
Route to the final: City kicked off their FA Cup campaign with a comfortable 6-0 win over FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division side AFC Bournemouth at the Snows Stadium (home to AFC Totton).
It was then a 4-0 win at home to WSL2 side Sheffield United in Round 5, which was followed up with a 1-0 victory away at WSL2 Champions Birmingham City at St. Andrews.
However, it was the semi-final where City had their biggest challenge, when they came back from being 2-0 down at half-time against Chelsea to win 3-2 at Stamford Bridge, via Mary Fowler and Bunny Shaw in normal time.
And it was then Shaw who sealed the winner in the 103rd minute in extra-time, to send City to Wembley, and have a chance to win their second piece of domestic silverware this season.
Match Information:
- Kick off: 15:00
- Venue: Wembley Stadium, South Way, Wembley, London, HA9 0WS
- Match Officials: Mel Burgin (referee), Anastasiya Voloshchuk and Leoni Harland (assistant referees), Phoebe Cross (fourth official), Paul Howard (VAR)
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