Birmingham City and Brighton & Hove Albion both go looking for their first points of the 2026/27 Women’s Super League season when they meet at St Andrew’s on Sunday.
The two sides lost difficult opening fixtures against last season’s top two, but neither performance was without encouragement. Newly promoted Birmingham kept Manchester City out for the entire first half before eventually losing 3–1, while Brighton pushed Arsenal in a narrow 1–0 defeat.
Sunday therefore provides a very different early test: after beginning against title contenders, both now have an opportunity to put their first WSL points on the board.
Birmingham City vs Brighton match information
Competition: Women’s Super League
Date: Sunday, 13 September 2026
Kick-off: 14:00 BST / 15:00 CEST
Venue: St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park
TV: Sky Sports & YouTube
How to watch Birmingham City vs Brighton
Birmingham City against Brighton will be shown live on Sky Sports in the UK. Kick-off is at 14:00 BST, which is 15:00 CEST for viewers in the Netherlands and much of central Europe.
For the complete weekend schedule and the latest broadcast information, see our Where to Watch the Women’s Super League 2026/27 guide.
Birmingham City team news and predicted lineup
Amy Merricks had reasons for encouragement despite Birmingham’s 3–1 defeat away to defending champions Manchester City.
Sophie Baggaley produced an impressive performance on her WSL debut for the club and helped Birmingham keep City scoreless through the opening 45 minutes. City eventually broke through after the interval, with Mary Fowler scoring before Khadija Shaw added two headers.
Birmingham did at least find a goal of their own late on. Océane Hurtré took advantage of a defensive mistake to score in the 90th minute, giving the newly promoted side their first WSL goal since returning to the division.
Merricks started with a back line containing Martha Levasseur, Millie Turner, Neve Herron and Ruesha McKenna against City. Lisa Naalsund started in midfield but was replaced by Aoba Miyagawa at half-time, while Hurtré, Wilma Leidhammar and Veatriki Sarri were among the attacking options.
With Birmingham competitive for long periods against the champions, there is little reason to expect wholesale changes for their first home league match.
Predicted Birmingham City XI:
Baggaley; Levasseur, Turner, Herron, McKenna; Naalsund, Lee; Crosthwaite, Leidhammar, Hurtré; Sarri.
Brighton team news and predicted lineup
Brighton’s first competitive match under new head coach Arturo Ruiz ended in defeat, but their performance against Arsenal provided some positive signs.
Lisa Baum’s 10th-minute goal proved to be the difference at Broadfield Stadium. Brighton stayed in the contest and restricted Arsenal to a single goal despite the visitors having more of the ball and creating the greater number of chances.
Chiamaka Nnadozie started in goal behind a defence of Charlie Rule, Caitlin Hayes, Moeka Minami and Manuela Vanegas. Further forward, Brighton have considerable WSL experience. Lia Wälti started alongside captain Maisie Symonds and Fran Kirby, while Kiko Seike, Madison Haley and Marit Auée Olislagers formed the attacking line.
Gabby George was available from the bench against Arsenal but did not feature, while Ingrid Joramo, Olaug Tvedten, Michelle Agyemang Garcia and Maisie Peskett were among the substitutes used by Ruiz.
Given the short turnaround since Ruiz’s arrival and a respectable performance against Arsenal, continuity would make sense for Brighton.
Predicted Brighton XI:
Nnadozie; Rule, Hayes, Minami, Vanegas; Wälti, Symonds; Kirby; Seike, Haley, Olislagers.
A more revealing test for both teams
Opening against Manchester City and Arsenal made it difficult to draw major conclusions about where Birmingham and Brighton stand.
Birmingham spent much of their first game without the ball but demonstrated that they can stay organised against elite opposition. Baggaley’s performance was important, although City eventually exposed Birmingham from set pieces, with both of Shaw’s goals coming from corners.
Against Brighton, Merricks should expect her side to have more opportunities to play rather than simply contain.
Brighton’s challenge is different. They showed enough against Arsenal to suggest that Ruiz has a useful base to work from, despite the head coach having only arrived shortly before the season began.
Wälti gives Brighton experience and control in midfield, while Kirby and Seike can provide the creativity that was missing from the final result against Arsenal. The question at St Andrew’s will be whether Brighton can turn promising attacking moments into goals.
That could make Sunday’s game more informative than either side’s opening fixture.
Birmingham City vs Brighton prediction
There was enough in both opening performances to make this difficult to separate.
Birmingham have home advantage and showed resilience against Manchester City, but Brighton possess more established WSL experience across the team and should have more attacking freedom than they were afforded against Arsenal.
A tight game looks likely, with Brighton just capable of taking their first points under Ruiz.
Prediction: Birmingham City 0–2 Brighton & Hove Albion
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