The Assist: The New WSL season is here!

Previewing the season start in the WSL, Liga F, and beyond. And pointing you in the direction of the best Women’s football to follow on FotMob during the month of September, including key Champions League qualifiers.

It’s an important week for the rebranded WSL and WSL2 with the summer transfer window closing today (Thursday) and the new season getting underway as champions Chelsea host Manchester City on Friday night.

There’s been something of a overhaul at City with incoming manager Andrée Jeglertz building bridges with his existing squad and bringing in new signings, including the reported swap deal that will see young England star Grace Clinton move from rivals Manchester United and Jess Park head in the opposite direction.

A City frontline featuring Bunny Shaw, Vivianne Miedema, and Lauren Hemp should test Sonia Bompastor’s all-conquering Chelsea side in the season opener but the jury remains out on a potential title challenge.

The Blues didn’t lose a domestic game last season and look well placed to continue that dominance with a squad also bolstered by new signings and the return to fitness of Sam Kerr. Perhaps the only question mark hanging over the Londoners is whether they can finally break their duck in the Champions League?

Contrastingly, fans of current Champions League holders Arsenal will wonder whether they can mount a serious bid for top honours at home. The Gunners start their campaign with an intriguing clash against newly promoted side London City Lionesses.

Fuelled by billionaire and serial-club owner Michele Kang, London City have gone big in the off season, with the WSL2 champions bringing in 15 players (to date), including ex-Arsenal star Daniëlle van de Donk, and the likes of Katie Zelem, Alanna Kennedy, Nikita Parris and Kosovare Asllani.

Back at Arsenal, there has been contrasting news for the stars of England’s European Championship win. Chloe Kelly remains at the club and will be at the heart of everything the Gunners do this season while teenage talent Michelle Agyemang has once again been loaned out to Brighton.

Further Reading:

For a closer look at Matchday 1 in the WSL, check out this article that uses Opta’s supercomputer to predict the result of each game!

Barcelona, five-time defending champions of Spain, and the undoubted giants of the modern game (yes Arsenal fans, we say that despite a certain result in May) have been rocked by the news of significant financial cuts to their budget for the 2025/26 season.

This is all related to the balancing act that (predominantly) allows the men’s team to continue paying high wages and conduct their transfer business in the delicate world of LaLiga finances.

For the women’s side, who’ve also won three of the last five Champions League titles, it has meant a number of high profile departures and a reduced squad of 17 players registered to compete in Liga F.

That, however, does not appear to have had much impact on results, with Barca putting eight past Alhama in their opening game! This weekend they face a stiffer test, a road trip to Athletic Club.

Lyon, Michele Kang’s main concern, at least in terms of the European game, begin a fresh era in French football as the new season starts in earnest this week.

With a new name (we may still call them Lyon?), new identity, and new manager at the helm, Lyon begin the defence of their Première Ligue title with a game against Marseille on Sunday evening.

Jonatan Giráldez, a two-time Champions League winner with Barcelona, takes over as manager having made the move from Kang’s NWSL club Washington Spirit over the summer.

Regular league challengers PSG open their campaign with a trip to Lens, with an early showdown against Lyon then scheduled for Matchday 3 later this month (see date below).

The big news in German football is the top flight expanding to 14 teams for this season - something that can only be good for the strength of the league in general. However, a summer transfer window that has featured a number of big players departing the league, and the expected continuation of the Bayern / Wolfsburg hegemony may have dampened the mood a little.

Wolfsburg have played second fiddle to Bayern in each of the past three seasons, so they’ll be hoping to topple the Bavarians as the new campaign gets underway this weekend. The She-Wolves start in Hamburg on Sunday while Bayern face Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Over in the States, where the NWSL has two months to run in it’s regular season, Kansas City errrr…Current-ly enjoy a very healthy 14 point lead in the standings. They remain unbeaten at home and haven’t lost on the road since early May.

Fired on by Temwa Chawinga’s league leading number of goal contributions (11 goals, two assists), and ably assisted by Brazilian pair Debinha and Beatriz, the Current boast both the highest number of goals scored per game (2) and the lowest number of goals conceded (0.60).

Further down the league, defending champions Orlando Pride find themselves in fourth while glamour-club Angel City sit down in ninth, narrowly outside the all-important post-season playoff places.

Later this month, in the Champions League qualifying finals, Brann, the local club that we support here in Norway (both in the stands and in sponsoring the training kit), have been drawn against WSL side Manchester United.

The two-legged decider begins in Bergen next week (Thurs 11 Sep), with the return game in England a week later (Thurs 18 Sep). Last time Brann made it to the competition proper, we progressed as far as the quarterfinals, where we lost to eventual winners Barcelona in 2024.

Notable dates for your diary this month:

5 Sep: Atlético Madrid vs. Real Madrid

16-18 Sep: Concacaf W Champions Cup Matchday 3

19 Sep: UWCL League Phase draw

20/21 Sep: Manchester United vs. Arsenal

27 Sep: OL Lyonnes vs. PSG

Pro Tip: Click on any of the match dates above, then tap the star in the top right of the match page to automatically add them to the top of your main match feed in the app.