WSL fixtures: London City Lionesses open 2026-27 season against Manchester United

Those desperate to see what London City Lionesses will look like with two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas in their ranks do not have to wait long, with the big-spending club kicking off the new Women’s Super League season against Manchester United on Friday 4 September.The Michelle Kang-owned side welcome United to Hayes Lane in the first game of the 2026-27 season, which will also likely feature goalkeeper Mary Earps, who returns to the WSL for an opener against her former club after leaving Paris Saint-Germain to join London City this summer.The full fixture list for the new season has been announced, and comes after an extremely complex scheduling process, with WSL Football running more that 1.5 billion scheduling iterations as it juggles the stadium availability and broadcast windows following the announcement of the calendars and fixtures of the Premier League, EFL and men’s National League and men’s FA Cup, women’s FA Cup, Carabao Cup, and men’s and women’s Champions League.Also on the opening weekend, WSL champions Manchester City, who have added the former Arsenal forward Beth Mead and Chelsea defender Niamh Charles to their ranks, begin their title defence against WSL2 champions Birmingham. The Midlands side were promoted alongside Charlton and Crystal Palace with the top flight expanding to 14 teams for the first time.Arsenal start their campaign against Brighton, who knocked them out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage shortly before they earned a draw in the league against the Gunners that handed Manchester City their first title since 2016.Elsewhere, Charlton, who earned a playoff win over Leicester to earn their promotion at the expense of the WSL’s bottom-placed side, will play Liverpool at home, Tottenham host West Ham, Chelsea welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge and Crystal Palace mark their return to the WSL against Everton.In WSL2, Watford will host Burnley at Vicarage Road to kickstart things, while Bristol City, who narrowly missed out on promotion, face Sunderland, Durham play Southampton, Ipswich meet Nottingham Forest, Newcastle host Wolves and Sheffield United tackle relegated Leicester City.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionFollowing the 2025-26 transition season, as the top flight expanded to 14 teams, new relegation and promotion rules begin between the top two divisions for next season. The team that finishes top of the WSL2 will be promoted to replace the team relegated from the WSL in bottom place and at the end of the season the teams that finish in second and third place in WSL2 will meet to determine who will face the team that finishes 13th in the WSL in a playoff for a place in the top flight.