Arsenal, Chelsea and ambitious Lionesses target Man City in new WSL season

MANCHESTER, England, Sept 3 : The Women's Super League returns this weekend with a sense of momentum. Expanded to 14 teams, fuelled by fresh investment and looking more competitive than ever, the 2026-27 season promises to be one of the most compelling in the league's history.

Manchester City are champions after ending a 10-year title drought, but retaining the trophy could prove even tougher.

"Our biggest challenge this year is to continue winning and, at the same time, compete in other competitions and also want to win those," City boss Andree Jeglertz told the BBC.

"Winning in one year is one thing, but being able to win in the next year, that is even tougher ... we have good enough players to be able to play with one starting 11 on Saturday and do a couple of changes on Wednesday and still win. Each player will be more important than they've ever been for the club."

City host promoted Birmingham City on Sunday with their Jamaica striker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw, armed with a contract extension until 2030, the league's most feared goalscorer.

Arsenal, runners-up last season, have strengthened again and look genuine title contenders, with England striker Alessia Russo leading a squad packed with talent and their manager Renee Slegers said her season ambition was "taking the next step."

"We've been growing the last couple of years," she told the club's in-house media. "There were a lot of really good things last year.

"If you look at results, we're second in the WSL. We're semi-finalists in the Champions League. The next step is to be even closer and to be up there to compete for the first place ... we're going to do everything that we're capable of within our control to put ourselves in a position to do it."

Arsenal visit