Maestre outlines FA Cup expectations with preparations to host Spurs a ruthless underway

London City Lionesses host Tottenham Hotspur in the fifth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup on Monday.

Eder Maestre addressed the media ahead of this challenging cup tie, setting out his FA Cup expectations, previewing a ruthless Spurs side, and discussing his players featured in Sarina Wiegman’s latest England squad announcement.

Previewing Spurs 

Last weekend, Martin Ho’s Spurs made heads turn with a 7-3 thrilling victory against Aston Villa. When asked about Tottenham Hotspur and what to expect on Monday, Maestre asserted his side are ready for the challenge: 

“If we see the statistics, maybe, yes, but as I said, before, every game is different. We need to face in that humble vision, understanding they are doing very well.  

They were able to score seven goals against Aston Villa resolutely, so we need to be aware of that. So, yes, maybe it's the closest team in the stance, if we want to see the teams over us, but as I said, maybe Aston Villa thought the same last game and you are not, it's not profitable doing that…

It's about understanding the kind of thing that we are going to face and recognising them in their strengths and the weakness that we speak out of them in the last question. So, hopefully we are going to find these gaps and trying to be very compact.”

Regarding their performance on Sunday, Maestre has been in touch with Natalia Arroyo, Villa head coach and said she felt Spurs were clinical and punished her side:

“So, I was speaking with Natalia, and how she suffered the game, and, well, yes, she explained me that Tottenham with every chance that they have to punish, everyone to have that mindset to kill you, you know, in the box, so we need to be aware of that. Yeah, she called them cruel. She said they were cruel. 

Speaking on how London City aim to breakdown Tottenham and cause problems for Ho’s in-form side, Maestre believes stopping counterattacking opportunities is vital:

“I think one of the key points would be, having, trying to avoid, the ball looseness in the in the buildup, because their counterattacks are very, very nice, very dangerous... And from that, trying to avoid that counterattacks, they, I think they can suffer a little bit in the back of the defensive line. 

So, if we are able to attack and take advantage of the players that we can move with the ball. So, I think the gaps could be up here, and from this situation, if we are able to take advantage of advantage on that, maybe we can lose them in that recovery runs.”

Poppy Pattinson and the young Lionesses 

Earlier this week, news came from Wiegman that Poppy Pattinson will join her first senior Lionesses camp. Regarding her first senior call-up, Maestre is proud of Pattinson and says it is a result of her commitment and consistency to perform:

“Every people here, we are very pleased of having Poppy in the national team, Freya as well. Creating the context to improve today as on the way they are having that possibilities for me is very special. So, yeah, I really think she deserves it. Yeah, I hope she enjoys it a lot.

Freya Godfrey was also called up to the Lionesses camp, following her first call-up in the final camp of 2025. Maestre also expressed his pride for the midfielder, with a totally deserved return to the senior setup:

“In the case of Freya, I mean completely game changer, scoring beautiful goals. In the case of Bobby Pattinson, you only need to see the last match and see how she is improving every week. So, yeah, I really think they deserve this call-up.” 

London City Lionesses also have several young England internationals in the setup, including Teyah Goldie and Isobelle Goodwin. Maestre spoke about the importance of preparing these players, so that when Wiegman calls upon them, they are ready to prove themselves worthy of a place in her senior squad:

“Yeah, for sure. They are pushing hard. They are in the Under 23s as well. They are in that pathway to improve every day, and hopefully, next camp we'll see more names in that national team, hopefully, because it will be the consequence of their work, of every week.”

A tough fifth round FA Cup draw 

Whilst several WSL 2 and FA Women’s National League sides remain in the FA Cup, London City Lionesses will face Barclays Women’s Super League rivals, Spurs. When asked about the luck of the draw potentially being away from these two sides, Maestre spoke about his excitement to host such a challenging tie early on in the competition:  

“Obviously, having this kind of games is something special because you always want to face the best teams in the world. So having this kind of challenge is very, very positive for me. And I think for the team as well. 


So, yes, if we want to get something big in that competition, you need to know that these kinds of teams will appear in your pathway. So having now is perfect because we really move forward in the competition and hopefully, we can reach the result that we expect. So, yes, facing Tottenham will be special and very powerful.” 

However, Maestre recognises the occasion of playing in the FA Cup and says it is special for him to participate in this competition: 

“It's a very special competition, because I think it's the competition who shall reward all the world, that knockout competition, no, with a unique chance to beat the others in the competition, where we saw a lot of uncommon results, and that's the underdogs team competition, and that's why, all the romantics of this kind of sport, I love that competition.”

Competition in the starting XI

Danielle Van de Donk, Sanni Franssi, and Nikita Parris returned to the starting XI for London City Lionesses last week, to face a strong Manchester United side. Despite falling short to a 2-1 defeat, Parris scored the opener, whilst both Van de Donk and Franssi put in some notable performances:

“I'm very pleased having these kinds of players, because, yeah, maybe, the changes in the lineup could be something strange if you are seeing from outside, but if you see how these players are performing during the week, you know, the margins to be in the lineup are too close.

So, it's not only Nikita, it’s not only Danielle, Sanni Franssi as well. She performed very well.”