Manchester United v Tottenham: Women’s FA Cup final – live

I think we’ve seen this film before and Liverpool didn’t like the ending. Tottenham have chosen to wear white suits to Wembley, reminiscent of the infamous suits worn by the Liverpool men’s team in the 1996 cup final which they lost 1-0 to Manchester United. A strange decision to emulate losers or is a pure coincidence?

https://twitter.com/SpursWomen/status/1789629554903900384

The team news is here. Nikita Parris, Melvine Malard and Geyse all start from the bench for United. Rachel Williams starts.

Manchester United:

There are no surprises from Tottenham with the likes of Martha Thomas and BEth England starting.

Tottenham:

You can’t speak about stars in the Manchester United team without speaking about goalkeeper Mary Earps. Keepers are sometimes overlooked but the England number one continually performs at a high level for her club. She came up with some magnificent saves in the semi to clinch the win over Chelsea and there’s no doubt she will have a say in this final.

Manchester United may as a club have more experience on this stage but Tottenham do have players who have been here before. And one star who has been on the stage multiple times is Beth England. She has won two Women’s FA Cups with Chelsea. She has also more than proven able to score under pressure so she will be one star United will have to keep quiet.

Tottenham may not be able to play Grace Clinton but they do have a former Manchester United player in their ranks who is in top form: Martha Thomas. She joined Spurs last summer and her impact at the club has been instantaneous. She is likely to start today, alongside Beth England, and they will be looking to cause an upset at Wembley.

Starting Nikita Parris may seem like a no-brainer, she is among the top-scorers after all. But manager Marc Skinner did not start her in the semi-final against Chelsea. opting for Rachel Williams instead. It turned out to be the correct selection call as Williams scored the winner which saw her rise to become the competition’s top-scorer. Either way United have a quality player up front, but which will Skinner pick? All will be revealed soon.

So who is favourite in this final? I think both clubs have a good chance of clinching the trophy but it will be Manchester United who have the edge before kick-off. The club have been in the final before and so they have the experience. But Spurs will be capable of putting the cat among the pigeons and they have done so already this season in the competition. They knocked out Manchester City in the quarter-final.

Hello and welcome to one of the biggest games of the season, the Women’s FA Cup final. No matter the result this afternoon we will witness history as neither of these teams have won this trophy before.

This is also Tottenham’s first time in the Women’s FA Cup final. Their opponents Manchester United are on the biggest stage for the second time, their first time in the final was in 2023 but they lost 1-0 to Chelsea.

Marc Skinner’s side banished the Chelsea curse when they beat them for the first time in the semi-final and now they will look to add their first silverware to the club since their Championship win in 2019. Tottenham, meanwhile, are seeking their first trophy since 2017 where they were Championship play-off winners.

It is a huge game and the team news will be crucial for this one. Remember Grace Clinton cannot play in the final for Tottenham as she is not allowed to compete against her parent club United. It is a blow for Spurs, Clinton has been impressive in her loan spell and has been nominated for Women’s Super League player of the season.

United’s team news will also be interesting. Will Skinner start Nikita Parris? Or will he opt for another of his star forwards? The team news will be announced an hour before kick-off so stay tuned. We will look at some star players now. Kick-off coming at 2.30pm BST.