Manchester City got to the summit of the mountain last season, winning the league for the first time in a decade and then adding the FA Cup to make a domestic double. Can they keep the consistency with the addition of Champions League games to their schedule?
What happened last season?
The Sky Blues were the team to beat in domestic football last season. They capitalised on their rivals’ slow starts to the season to build a points gap which reached 11-points at one stage. In the end, City won the title four points ahead of Arsenal and six points in front of Chelsea.
A disappointing semi-final exit in the League Cup was the only blemish on City’s record as they stormed to a 4-0 victory in the Women’s FA Cup final against Brighton to claim a first WSL-FA Cup double.
Sum up the transfer window
Manchester City needed experience after losing some big characters in the squad. Laura Coombs announced her retirement at the end of last season, veteran left-back Leila Ouahabi left for Chicago in the NWSL, and second choice goalkeeper Khiara Keating joined Liverpool. Last season’s third-top scorer Kerolin completed her switch to Barcelona, leaving City light in attack and experience.
City responded by adding familiar WSL faces in the form of Niamh Charles from Chelsea and Beth Mead from Arsenal. A mini injury crisis at the end of the window saw them move swiftly to add versatile German full-back Carlotta Wamser from Frauen Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and Anna Moorhouse on loan from Orlando Pride as a back-up goalkeeper option.
City’s best bit of business was holding onto star striker Bunny Shaw. The forward was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, but City managed to lock her down on a new long-term deal.
Who should the fans keep an eye on this season?
Mary Fowler had her breakout season in 2024-25, scoring 10 and assisting 10 across all competitions for City. Unfortunately, she suffered an ACL injury at the end of that campaign which ruled her out for the majority of City’s title-winning season. The departure of Kerolin means the champions need another supply of goals. I am backing Fowler to step up.
Her ability to play any of the attacking roles coupled with her two-footedness makes her a devastating tool for City. I am very curious to see what she looks like in this new version of City where she will get more freedom to roam across the attacking third. She also scores ‘bangers’, something City did not do much of last season.
Elsewhere, Aoba Fujino also keeps improving season upon season and is one of the best young attackers in the WSL. The linkup between her Japanese compatriots Risa Shimizu and Yui Hasegawa was a highlight of City’s preseason and hopefully a sign of things to come.
The game you’ve marked in your calendar
Manchester City-Arsenal is a game that always delivers. The late Stina Blackstenius show in the 2023-24 season broke Manchester City hearts, the season after that both sides battled it out in a seven-goal thriller where Arsenal came up 4-3 victors. Last season, it was City who ended up on the right side of the scoreline after a late Iman Beney goal put them 3-2 up. All these fixtures were played at the Joie Stadium but this time the fixture is set to be played at the Etihad on 4 October, which adds another layer of excitement and intrigue. It is early in the season so it will not be a title decider but it is one of those games that could lay down a marker for either team’s title challenge.
Prediction
City are not in the chasing pack anymore, they are now the team to beat. That comes with its new set of challenges. The expectation is that City will rise to the challenge especially if they keep their best players fit. They have been relatively quiet in the window but that is because they had the best squad in the division last season and the rest have been trying to play catch up. The title race will definitely be tighter this season than last campaign, but City’s experience and stability should get them over the line again.
However, the Champions League is an entirely different beast. It is a beast City, and Chelsea, are yet to tame with their best ever finish being the semi-finals in 2017 and 2018. Their biggest stars are yet to make a mark on Europe’s premier competition and they will be desperate to do that. They have the quality to win it but I think the first aim should be to be a team that consistently makes deep runs into the competition, realistically it will probably be semi-finals again.
