Manchester United are set to kick off the 2026/27 Barclays Women’s Super League season, and a new era under head coach Eva Olid, with Friday’s trip to London City Lionesses.
The 19:00 BST start at the CopperJax Community Stadium in Bromley will offer fans a first look at Olid’s Reds in competitive action, following the Catalan coach’s appointment at the start of August.
It means there will be plenty of intrigue around Friday’s game, which is also the opener to the division’s biggest-ever campaign,
following the expansion from 12 to 14 teams over the summer.
This season will be London City’s second in the WSL, following a top-half finish (sixth) in 2025/26, on their division debut.
The Lionesses became the league’s first independent club to not have an affiliated men’s team and, under owner Michele Kang, have ambitions to become a leading side in English women’s football and challenge for trophies at the top level.
In pursuit of their goal, the Bromley-based outfit have had a busy summer in the transfer market, with two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas among their high-profile incomings. That list also includes Putellas’s former Barcelona team-mate Maria Leon and ex-United goalkeeper Mary Earps, who is back in England after two years with French giants Paris Saint-Germain.
London City were beaten by PSG’s domestic rivals OL Lyonnes over the weekend, but have enjoyed a positive pre-season on the whole, with wins over Atletico de Madrid, Benfica and Sevilla highlights of their preparations for a campaign that season tickets have sold out for, with excitement high among Lionesses fans.
Our clash is the first of seven fixtures on the slate for the WSL’s opening weekend. Chelsea host Aston Villa on Saturday, while there are five matches scheduled for Sunday, when champions Manchester City begin their defence of the title at home to newly promoted Birmingham City.
Charlton Athletic and Crystal Palace, also fresh off promotion from WSL2, host Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton respectively.
TEAM NEWS
Olid gave minutes to 16 players during our fourth and final friendly of pre-season, away to Manchester City on Saturday. The derby duel followed previous clashes with Liverpool, Newcastle United and Leicester City.
New signing Monica Jusu Bah, who joined the club from BK Hacken last week, was among those to get on the pitch. Fellow summer recruit Andrea Medina was involved too, and could make her competitive debut against London City, after playing in all four of our summer matches.
Simi Awujo and Fridolina Rolfo haven’t featured in pre-season and our new head coach may provide an update on her squad when she speaks to the media for the first time later this week.
Young duo Layla Drury and Lucy Newell are preparing to represent England at the FIFA Under-20s Women’s World Cup, which starts on Saturday, while Celin Bizet Donnum has had her boots on again over the summer, but is yet to play after giving birth in June.
As far as London City are concerned, we may find out more about their squad from head coach Eder Maestre in the build-up to the game. Kosovare Asllani and Malou Marcetto have both been recovering from knee injuries over the summer, while Corinne Henson is a long-term absentee who didn’t make an appearance last season.
