The WSL returns this weekend with a blockbuster opening-day clash as London City Lionesses welcome Manchester United to Bromley. Who will get their season started off to the right track?
London City vs Man Utd: The Key Stats
Manchester United head into the opener as favourites, winning 45.7% of the Opta supercomputer’s 10,000 simulations. London City Lionesses prevail in 29.6%, while 24.7% of simulations finish as draws. London City’s Alexia Putellas could become the second-oldest player to score on their WSL debut (32 years, 212 days), behind only Vicky Exley for Doncaster Rovers Belles on the first day of WSL action in April 2011 (35 years, 173 days vs Notts County). Manchester United are winless in their last four WSL matches (D2 L2). They have never endured a longer winless run in the competition.The opening match of the 2026-27 WSL season should provide some early answers to two of the campaign’s biggest questions: how quickly can London City Lionesses integrate a squad transformed by an extraordinary summer recruitment drive, and what will Manchester United look like under new head coach Eva Olid?
Yes, it’s only the first game of the season, but this fixture could also have implications for the race for Europe.
The Opta supercomputer gives Chelsea (69.9%), Manchester City (60.4%) and Arsenal (56.3%) the highest chances of securing UEFA Women’s Champions League qualification, while Manchester United are next at 11.9%. London City’s probability stands at just 0.6%, underlining the scale of the challenge ahead, but also how much an opening-weekend statement result could shift people’s perceptions.
For Eder Maestre, it represents the first opportunity of the season to measure the Lionesses’ ambitions against one of the league’s established contenders.
Since Michelle Kang’s takeover, the club’s rise has been rapid, but investment has soared to another level this summer, with a spending spree bringing some of the biggest names in the women’s game to Bromley.
The headline arrivals include two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, Barcelona quartet Mapi León, Jana Fernández, Lucía Corrales and María Pérez, UWCL winner Kadidiatou Diani and England goalkeeper Mary Earps. Few clubs in WSL history have added so much proven pedigree in a single window.
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1 month ago Emily CloggThe challenge now is turning that individual quality into a cohesive team. On paper, London City possess the talent to compete with the division’s elite, but this opening-day test will give us the first indication of how quickly those pieces can come together.
Manchester United, meanwhile, begin a new era of their own.
Several high-profile departures have been followed by a managerial change and a relatively quiet transfer window, leaving a very different outlook to the one that followed last season’s fourth-place finish.
Marc Skinner departed by mutual consent after five years in charge, ending a spell in which he established United as regular challengers at the top end of the table.
His successor, former Hearts head coach Eva Olid, takes charge of a WSL club for the first time. She becomes one of eight women leading top-flight sides at the start of the 2026-27 season.
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London City will be hoping their new-look side can produce a very different outcome against United this time around. The Lionesses lost both WSL meetings with the Red Devils last season, conceding more goals against them (seven) than against any other opponent in 2025-26.
London City’s first-ever WSL home game, in their second match following promotion, ended in a 5-1 defeat to Manchester United. It served as a stark introduction to top-flight football in front of their own supporters.
Twelve months on, they begin at home against the same opposition, but as a very different proposition. With the scale of change in personnel over the summer, this almost feels like another new beginning for the Lionesses.
Opening weekends, however, have not been particularly kind to them; they have failed to win their first league game in each of the last four seasons (D2 L2), including a 4-1 defeat to Arsenal last term. Their last opening-day victory came in the second tier in 2021-22, when they beat Liverpool 1-0.
United’s recent record could hardly be more different. They are the only side to have won their opening fixture in each of the last five WSL campaigns, scoring 15 goals and conceding just once across those matches.
That said, United will also be keen to avoid extending an unwanted run.
They finished last season without a win in their last four league matches (D2 L2), the second season in a row they have ended a campaign on such a sequence. A fifth straight league game without a win would mark their longest such sequence since the club’s reformation in 2018.
Players to Watch
All eyes will be on Alexia Putellas as she prepares for her WSL debut. After spending her entire club career in Spain, the two-time Ballon d’Or winner is set for a new challenge, becoming the latest global star to bring her talents to England.
Putellas has a habit of making an immediate impression, scoring on her first league start under three of her last four managers. She could also make a small piece of WSL history this weekend by becoming the second-oldest player to score on their competition debut at 32 years and 212 days. Only Vicky Exley was older when she scored for Doncaster Rovers Belles against Notts County in 2011 (35 years and 173 days).
The Spaniard arrives still operating at an elite level.
Despite playing just 1,451 minutes in Liga F last season, she contributed nine goals and seven assists, averaging a goal involvement every 91 minutes. She also created 45 chances, seven of them big chances, and recorded 138 touches in the opposition box.
Those numbers help explain why London City moved aggressively to secure her signature.
Indeed, Putellas leaves Barcelona as the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, having scored 232 goals in 508 appearances across all competitions.
Another headline arrival needs little introduction. Mary Earps returns to the WSL after her spell at Paris Saint-Germain, having made more appearances (188) and keeping more clean sheets (63) than any goalkeeper in competition history. She recorded the second-most clean sheets in the French top flight last season (nine), though her save percentage of 62% ranked 11th among goalkeepers to make at least five appearances.
United, meanwhile, will place their trust in Phallon Tullis-Joyce. She kept seven clean sheets in 21 WSL appearances last season, the joint-most in the division, while conceding only 19 goals. She faced 73 shots on target worth 21.8 expected goals on target (xGOT), yet conceded just 19 times, excluding own goals. That means she prevented 2.8 goals overall, the fourth-highest tally in the division.
Forming part of the new-look defence ahead of her is Andrea Medina. The Spanish full-back won more duels (124), made more clearances (106), interceptions (44) and carries (357) than any Atlético Madrid player in Liga F last season.
Amid all the attention surrounding London’s summer recruitment, however, one returning player could prove just as important. Daniëlle van de Donk, recently appointed vice-captain, was limited to just 248 WSL minutes by injury last season, but heads into the campaign in excellent form after scoring three goals across pre-season, including decisive strikes against Sevilla and Atlético Madrid.
For a London City side transformed by a remarkable summer of recruitment, a fit and firing Van de Donk could feel like another major addition.
London City vs Man Utd Prediction
For all the excitement surrounding London City’s summer transformation, the opening weekend will provide the first real indication of how quickly that investment can translate into results.
An unbeaten pre-season tour suggests the Lionesses are already beginning to click, while United are yet to win under new head coach Eva Olid.
Pre-season results naturally come with caveats – particularly for two teams undergoing significant change. But, there is little doubt which side arrives at Hayes Lane with greater momentum.
Despite that, the Opta supercomputer gives Manchester United a 45.7% chance of victory, compared to London City’s 29.6%, with a draw played out in 24.7% of its simulations.
London City vs Man Utd Predicted Lineups
London City Lionesses: Elene Lete, Jana Fernández, Alanna Kennedy, Isa Kardinaal, Poppy Pattinson, María Pérez, Saki Kumagai, Freya Godfrey, Alexia Putellas, Nikita Parris, Kadidiatou Diani
Head coach: Eder Maestre
Manchester United: Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Hanna Lundkvist, Scarlett Hill, Maya Le Tissier, Dominique Janssen, Julia Zigiotti Olme, Hinata Miyazawa, Jess Park, Simi Awujo, Monica Jusu Bah, Ellen Wangerheim
Head coach: Eva Olid
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London City Lionesses vs Manchester United Prediction: WSL Preview Opta Analyst.
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