The curtain comes down on the domestic footballing season as Brighton & Hove Albion meet Manchester City in the 2025-26 Women’s FA Cup Final.
Brighton on their maiden appearance in the final are chasing a first title, whilst Man City look to claim a fourth Women’s FA Cup crown.
Team News
Brighton have no fresh injury concerns to report following a 2-1 home defeat to Tottenham on the final day of the Women’s Super League season, with a full squad available for selection.
Man City will have Lauren Hemp available after she suffered a minor ankle injury during their 4-1 victory on the final day of the WSL season.
Iman Beney and Laura Wienrotiher however are ruled out after having suffered unspecified injuries during training.
Rebecca Knaak (shoulder), Vivianne Miedema (personal) and Ayaka Yamashita (unspecified) are back in contention.
When is Kick-Off?
Brighton face Man City at Wembley Stadium, London, on Sunday 31 May at 3pm BST, live on Channel 4 and TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Route to the Final
Brighton
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Score |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest | Home | 2-0 |
| 5 | West Ham | Away | 1-2 |
| Quarter-Final | Arsenal | Away | 0-2 |
| Semi-Final | Liverpool | Away | 2-3 |
Madison Haley’s penalty and Jelena Cankovic’s finish saw Brighton open their campaign with a 2-0 home victory against Nottingham Forest, before first-half goals from Fran Kirby and Kiko Seike sealed a 2-1 win at West Ham in the fifth round despite Leila Wandeler’s consolatory effort for the Hammers.
Haley’s strike and Caitlin Hayes’ header saw Brighton shock 14-time winners, Arsenal in a 2-0 win in the Quarter-Finals.
Nadine Noordam’s 95th-minute finish completed a dramatic 3-2 semi-final comeback at Liverpool in which Denise O’Sullivan and Beata Olsson put the Reds in firm control, before Manuela Vanegas and Haley pulled Brighton level from 2-0 down.
Man City
| Round | Opposition | Venue | Score |
| 4 | Bournemouth | Away | 0-6 |
| 5 | Sheffield United | Home | 4-0 |
| Quarter-Final | Birmingham | Away | 0-1 |
| Semi-Final | Chelsea | Away | 2-3 (AET) |
Braces from Laura Coombs and Vivianne Miedema sealed a routine clinical 6-0 fourth-round victory in City’s opening match of the campaign, after Khadija Shaw and Hemp initially put City into a 2-0 goal.
Hemp’s quick-fire early first-half brace plus goals from Aoba Fujino and Coombs saw City cruise to a 4-0 home victory against Sheffield United in the fifth round.
Shaw capitalised on an eighth-minute through-ball pass from Beney to fire City past Birmingham City in a narrow 1-0 Quarter-Final victory at St Andrew’s.
Shaw’s 103rd-minute winner saw City complete a 3-2 semi-final comeback at Chelsea in extra time, after Erin Cuthbert and Sam Kerr initially put the outgoing champions in control before Mary Fowler’s finish and Shaw’s first goal of her eventual brace restored parity.
Stat Attack
- Brighton lost their only previous Women’s FA Cup meeting against Man City by a 2-0 result in the fourth round of the 2017-18 edition.
- Man City have never met Brighton at a neutral venue in a major domestic cup competition before.
- Three of Brighton’s nine FA Cup goals this season have been scored by Madison Haley, of which two of the three ties that she scored in ended in 2-0 wins over Nottingham Forest and Arsenal respectively.
- Man City have kept clean sheets in three of their four ties en-route to the final, only having failed to do so in a 3-2 semi-final comeback win at Chelsea.
Prediction
Despite the daunting reality of their first major domestic cup final, Brighton have to relish their underdog status because they have nothing to lose – especially after beating City 3-2 from behind at home during the WSL run-in.
Brighton can also call on the experience of past winners, Kirby, Cankovic and Baggaley whilst their first-choice goalkeeper – Chiamaka Nnadozie won the French version just last season with Paris FC, so there are a few experienced cup winners within this squad capable of an cupset.
Man City though are boosted by the returns of Yamashita and Miedema plus Hemp’s availability which makes them a tough team on paper, especially after Shaw recently signed a new contract which would of lifted the mood in their camp as they now eye a domestic double.
The last four meetings between these two clubs however have been incredibly tight so I am expecting this final to be just as close, yet City’s title-winning experience could well be the difference.
Prediction: Brighton 1-2 Man City