
OneFootball
Lewis Ambrose·29 September 2023
All you need to know about the new WSL season đ

OneFootball
Lewis Ambrose·29 September 2023
Itâs time to buckle in for a new Womenâs Super League season, with all 12 teams kicking off their 2023/24 campaigns on Sunday.
And hereâs your full league lowdown ahead of the new season.
As the new season kicks off, everyone will be looking at Chelsea to retain their title once again. The Blues are looking to make it five league titles in a row under Emma Hayes and have made big steps to improve over the summer, signing North American stars Ashley Lawrence and Catarina Macario from PSG and Lyon respectively.
Mia Fishel and Sjoeke NĂŒsken are also exciting additions and the Blues boast unbelievable depth in goal. There have been notable exits â Magdalena Eriksson and Pernille Harder have joined Bayern Munich â but Chelsea look as strong as ever with Sam Kerr and Guro Reiten last seasonâs star turns.
Manchester United finished second last season, taking the title race to the final day, but will need new signings Geyse, Hinata Miyazawa (who won the Golden Boot at the World Cup) and Melvine Malard to impress after losing Alessia Russo to Arsenal.
As for Arsenal, they have looked to add depth after injuries were an issue last time out. As well as Russo and Canadian forward Cloé Lacasse, Australian midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross joins, while World Cup stars Laia Codina (Spain) and Amanda Ilestedt (Sweden) arrive at the back.
Manchester City are the fourth potential title contender, especially if their superb front three of Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly can get firing, but they have had a quiet summer, with Jill Roord (ex-Arsenal) joining from Wolfsburg as their only addition.
Bristol City are the new club in the league and the season will be all about survival.
Theyâve added plenty of top flight experience across their 10 summer signings.
âWe have to do it differently,â manager Lauren Smith said earlier this summer, acknowledging the fact that the club are one of only two in the WSL (with Leicester) whose male counterparts do not play in the Premier League. âWe have to ensure that the people who are doing it with us are thinking of it the same. And weâve done a lot of that to get to this point.â
Excitingly, the team will play all of their games at Ashton Gate.
Aston Villa impressed last time out, with Rachel Daly scoring 22 goals in as many games as the club finished fifth. The summer has only given further reasons to believe they could impress again, with the signing of Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar a particular coup.
The second half of the season showed plenty of promise for Tottenham, who finally found a regular goalscorer in Beth England, and Leicester, who turned things around to secure survival.
And just one point separated Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton, it will be intriguing to see if either can kick on and push into the top half.
Lastly, Brighton have had a truly exciting transfer window, signing Champions League winners Pauline Bremer and Vicky Losada, plus Portugal star Tatiana Pinto.