Preview: Manchester United Women vs Leicester City Women - prediction, team news, lineups

Manchester United Women will welcome Leicester City Women to Leigh Sports Village on the opening weekend of the Women's Super League season.

The Red Devils will hope that Sunday's contest is the start of a WSL title push, while the Foxes will be looking to avoid finishing in the relegation playoff spot.

Match preview

After finishing in fifth place in 2023-24, Man United would have been pleased with their third-placed finish last season, especially as they held off their local rivals Manchester City in the battle for Women's Champions League qualification.

The challenge for Man United will be to match and surpass last season's finishing position, with the Red Devils dreaming of winning their first-ever WSL title.

However, a quiet window suggests that it will be tricky to challenge the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, having recruited just three players during the course of the summer market.

The Red Devils welcomed Julia Zigiotti Olme, Fridolina Rolfo and Jess Park, with the latter joining in a deal that saw Grace Clinton move in the opposite direction to Man City.

In contrast to the other 11 sides in the WSL, Man United have already played a couple of competitive games this season, thrashing PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in their first Champions League qualifier, before claiming a 1-0 win over Hammarby to progress to the final qualifying round.

Marc Skinner's side will have one eye on Thursday's trip to Norway for the first leg of their qualifying clash with Brann, but before they head on their travels, they will attempt to claim a fifth consecutive victory in head-to-head meetings with the Foxes.

Leicester finished 10 points clear of relegated Crystal Palace last term, but they still had to settle for a 10th-placed finish after winning five, drawing five and losing 12 of their 22 league matches.

The Foxes finished the campaign as the WSL's second-lowest scorers, while they also had the division's worst away record following three draws and eight defeats in 11 road trips.

Amandine Miquel looked set to get the chance to work on Leicester's weaknesses from her first season in charge, only to be relieved of her duties at the end of August.

Leicester are now in the process of searching for Miquel's permanent successor, but in the meantime, they have recruited Rick Passmoor to lead the club on an interim basis.

The Foxes have made a number of new additions to their squad, including the deadline-day arrivals of Olivia McLoughlin, Rosella Ayane, Emily van Egmond and Cecily Wellesley-Smith.

Leicester will now be focusing on their trip to Leigh Sports Village, where they will attempt to claim their first-ever WSL victory over Man United at the ninth attempt.

Manchester United Women form (all competitions):

W W

Team News

Skinner has revealed that Man United will be unable to call upon Gabby George, Leah Galton and Simi Awujo for Sunday's WSL opener.

Rolfo and Rachel Williams are also set to miss out, with the pair aiming to be fit for the first leg against Brann or the second league game against London City Lionesses.

Park is eligible to make her debut this weekend following her deadline-day move from Man City, but she is likely to be used off the bench due to the lack of time that she has spent with her new teammates.

As for the Foxes, Passmoor has confirmed that forward Missy Goodwin will not be available for the trip to Leigh Sports Village.

Leicester are hoping that Jutta Rantala will be fit for Sunday's contest, although it remains to be seen whether she will be ready to start.

Meanwhile, it is unclear whether all or some of Leicester's four deadline-day arrivals will be involved in the opening game of the season.

Manchester United Women possible starting lineup:

Tullis-Joyce; Riviere, Le Tissier, Janssen, Sandberg; Miyazawa, Zigiotti Olme; Malard, Toone, Bizet; Terland

Leicester City Women possible starting lineup:

Leitzig; Thibaud, Kees, Swaby, Ale; Tierney, Cayman, Boureille; Cain, Chossenotte, Mouchon

We say: Manchester United Women 2-0 Leicester City Women

Man United have won their last four competitive matches against Leicester by a combined 8-1 scoreline, and we think that they will showcase their extra class once again to kick off the new season with a relatively-comfortable victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.