Women’s Super League 2025-26 previews No 9: Manchester City

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 3rd (NB: this is not necessarily Tom Garry’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 4th

Prospects

Following a third consecutive trophyless season and the added disappointment of dropping out of the Champions League places, there has been something of a summer reset at Manchester City. Andrée Jeglertz, the former Denmark coach, has made the move to England to become Manchester City’s head coach and is tasked with changing their fortunes of a team that has, by their high standards, underdelivered in recent years.

They have said goodbye to three senior players in Chloe Kelly, Laia Aleixandri and Jill Roord, while welcoming in five new signings so far, including reinforcing their defensive depth with the additions of the Austria full-back Laura Wienroither and the Canada defender Jade Rose, while the arrivals of Sydney Lohmann and Iman Beney higher up the pitch will give fans cause for excitement.

Yet, despite last year’s frustrating fourth-placed finish, they already had a squad with fearsome qualities, whether you are focusing on the stars in their forward line such as Khadija Shaw, Vivianne Miedema and Lauren Hemp, to name but a few, or the technical ability on the ball of the midfielder Yui Hasegawa and the centre-half Alex Greenwood. Their rivals will be wary of the fact that the last time Manchester City were not juggling their domestic matches with the rigours of European football – in 2023-24 – they missed out on the title only on goal difference. With that in mind, they should be expected to challenge.

When they have their strongest starting side fit, they have shown they are capable of beating anyone, as was demonstrated when they deservedly defeated Barcelona last autumn. The task ahead of them is toperform consistently for a full 22-game league season. Returning to the European places, as a minimum, will be expected.

The manager

Jeglertz became a European title-winning coach with the Swedish club Umeå in 2004 and has built a strong reputation for coaching in the women’s game for more than 20 years, including being in charge of Finland for six years. However, trying to deliver a first league since 2016 for Manchester City will not be easy. The club searched far and wide for the new head coach and admired Jeglertz’s style of play. He was most recently in charge of Denmark, exiting Euro 2025 at the group stage. It had already been agreed prior to the tournament that he would remain in charge of Denmark until after the Euros and then join City.

View image in fullscreen Andrée Jeglertz, manager of Manchester City, speaks with his coaching staff during a training session. Photograph: James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

Off-field picture

The biggest ongoing change to the club’s infrastructure is the building of their women’s training centre, on the site of the club’s City Football Academy. Work began on the £10m project in March, with a 17,000-square-foot building set to include facilities tailored specifically towards female performance and to have world-class features including a hydrotherapy pool. Observant passers-by will have noticed the structure rising behind the north car park adjacent to the women’s team’s 7,000-seater Joie Stadium. It is set to open during the season, according to the club’s original announcement.

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Star signing

The Germany midfielder Sydney Lohmann made the move to Manchester this summer after a great campaign for Bayern Munich last season, in which she helped the club to a German league and cup double. The 25-year-old had been with Bayern since joining their under-17 team and helped them win four Bundesliga titles. England fans may recall Lohmann was on the receiving end of an expletive-filled remark from Jill Scott during the Euro 2022 final, which went viral, but more importantly she will bring a physical presence to Manchester City’s midfield as well as her quick feet, good passing range and heaps of top-tier experience.

Stepping up

The highly rated winger Lily Murphy made her senior debut for City at the start of last season and went on to have an encouraging first campaign in the first-team squad, scoring twice, gaining experience in the Champions League and starring in a League Cup victory over Manchester United. She has signed a new contract until 2027, looking set for more match minutes this term, and as if to illustrate that likelihood, Murphy started their pre-season victory over Durham, scoring City’s second goal in a 4-0 win.

It was a good summer for …

Greenwood and Hemp – both of whom started every game – plus Jess Park and Khiara Keating were all part of England’s victorious Euro 2025 squad, while the Brazilian forward Kerolin also won silverware at the Copa América, scoring three goals. It was also something of a breakthrough summer for one of Manchester City’s new young signings, Beney, as she impressed for Switzerland as one of their stronger performers at their home Euros, helping them reach the quarter-finals and giving Manchester City fans plenty of reasons to be excited.

Main initiative to attract more fans

At each game at the Joie Stadium, the club randomly select a group of fans to have the chance to spend time in “autograph alley”, a post-match zone they have designated to enable players to meet supporters in a safe environment, and they hope it will serve as an extra incentive to buy match tickets. The club froze season-ticket prices and they also announced they will play two matches at their men’s team’s neighbouring home, the Etihad Stadium; against Manchester United in November and Chelsea in February.

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