Chelsea vs Manchester City: Two established teams in the WSL clash in title race opener

Chelsea's hunt for more WSL titles continues

Chelsea, the defending champions, are out to retain the WSL title in the current campaign and build on last season's success. Their opening match begins with a tough assignment against Manchester City. For insights on this game, head to our Chelsea vs Manchester City prediction.

The 2024-25 Women's Super League season was definitely one for the history books for head coach Sonia Bompastor and company. Besides going unbeaten in 22 league games, they wrapped the campaign with a 30-match unbeaten run across all domestic competitions, including runs in the FA Cup and League Cup. 

On paper, they became the first English women's team to achieve such a daring feat and will hope to replicate the same performance in the current Women's Super League campaign. 

Can Sonia Bompastor lead the Blues to greener pastures again?

Head coach Sonia Bompastor took charge of Chelsea at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. It was love at first sight when it came to the appointment of Bompastor despite the fans having grown fond of former head coach Emma Hayes and her dominant tenure at Kingsmeadow/Stamford Bridge.

As time went by, the French coach proved herself on the biggest stage and guided the team to its sixth consecutive league title. That was also their eighth title in the WSL, making them the most decorated team in this competition. On top of that, she added the FA Cup and League Cup titles to the team's storied trophy cabinet to quell any concerns over her capabilities. 

Despite failing to secure a quadruple after falling to a damaging 8-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League, the 45-year-old head coach was definitely proud to end the season with a treble. 

The question remains: Can she lead the Blues to greener pastures again this season? That answer will be answered by her team's performance in the league opener.

More on the Women's Super League

Manchester City have renewed ambitions under new management 

Manchester City's dream in the previous 2024-25 WSL season was to go one better. After finishing in second place and level on points (55) with table-toppers Chelsea in the 2023-24 season, which saw them miss out on claiming their second WSL title because of goal difference, they failed to impress in the previous campaign, settling for a fourth-place finish and were 17 points adrift of the top spot. 

That was undeniably a disappointing finish for anyone associated with the club, as it meant ending the season without a trophy for the third consecutive year, not to mention missing out on the Women's Champions League. 

They now find themselves under new management and will be led by former Denmark head coach Andree Jeglertz. He succeeds Gareth Taylor, whose tenure at Joie Stadium came to an end in March before his match against Chelsea in the League Cup final.

His task is simple: to make Manchester City a European giant and a challenge for domestic trophies.

The 53-year-old is definitely up for that task as he was unfazed in his first game against Chelsea. When asked what he thinks about facing six-time WSL champions in the league opener, this is what he had to say:

He added, "I’m pretty confident that we have the capacity to build that. It’s more about us than it is Chelsea."

Who are the Citizens' new reinforcements for the 2025-26 WSL season?

Manchester City have seen as many as four players leave the club at the end of the season. However, the team has been very active in the transfer market, signing six new players.

Check out the new reinforcements in the table below:

Check out our Chelsea vs Manchester City prediction.