Birmingham Faces Manchester City in WSL Opener

Amy Merricks is not easing Birmingham City back into the Women’s Super League. She’s walking straight into the champions’ backyard and demanding her players swing.

On Sunday, newly promoted Blues head to the Joie Stadium to face Manchester City, the side that hammered them 6-0 there in May 2022 and sent them tumbling out of the top flight. Same ground. Same heavyweight opponent. Very different Birmingham.

“I think it's a great time to play Man City,” Merricks said ahead of the opener to the 2026-27 campaign. “We know it's going to be a challenge but we are well and truly up for it. We are here to compete, not just make up the numbers.”

Birmingham climbed back to the WSL by winning the second-tier title on the final day last season, ending a four-year stay outside the top division. They did it with ambition: 2.09 goals per game and a clear attacking reputation. Promotion hasn’t persuaded Merricks to put the handbrake on.

“There is a core part of our identity that is non-negotiable for us as Blues and myself as a head coach,” she said. “We are a progressive team, we will find ways to create and score. We are really clear on what our strengths are and what we need to maximise.”

This is the best league in the world, as she freely admits. It will be brutal at times. But she refuses to let that scare Birmingham into retreat.

“It is going to be tough and a challenge, but what we can't do is lose our strengths. We have to amplify those and put ourselves in the best position possible.

“We have to focus on what we can control and that's how we can compete. We don't fear anyone. I think we showed that in the cup competitions last year.”

City know that warning isn’t empty.

Five months to the day before this fixture, Andree Jeglertz’s side had to grind out a 1-0 win away at Birmingham in the Women’s FA Cup quarter-finals. No cruise, no procession. A scrap.

“We had a tough game against them last year,” the Manchester City boss recalled. “They were tactically very good and destroyed all the space on the field, defending low and their transitioning was very good. There are threats in their team we need to give attention to.”

City’s record at home last season was flawless: 11 wins from 11 in the league. The Joie Stadium became a fortress as they stormed to the WSL title, their first league crown in a decade. That perfect home run now sits as the standard.

But Jeglertz is determined his players don’t start this defence like a team trying to guard a trophy.

“We are still chasing, chasing to win again,” he said. “If you start protecting things, I don't think that will help us. We need to be in a mood of hunger, trying to win again, to compete in different tournaments.

“If we drop a little bit in performance or attitude, teams will go past us.”

Birmingham’s energy is one of the threats he has in mind. Newly promoted sides often hit the opening day with a surge of adrenaline, and he expects exactly that.

“Playing against a team that is new in the league is always a challenge because I know they are coming in with a lot of energy in the first game.”

Team news will test City’s depth early. Forward Vivianne Miedema is out until at least late autumn with a knee injury, removing one of the division’s most lethal attackers from the picture for the opening stretch. Defender Rebecca Knaak will also miss Birmingham’s visit because of a foot problem.

There is better news elsewhere. Defender Jade Rose and midfielder Grace Clinton have both returned to training, giving Jeglertz more options as the season kicks off. Summer signing Niamh Charles, though, remains “a big question mark” for Sunday.

For Birmingham, the assignment is stark: first game back, away to the champions, in a stadium where painful memories linger. For Merricks, that’s exactly the point. The scars from 2022 are part of the story, but they’re also fuel.

She has spent the summer building a side that attacks, presses and believes it belongs at this level. City, unbeaten at home last season, will expect to dictate. Birmingham intend to argue.

The whistle goes at 14:30 BST on Sunday. One team starts a title defence. The other tries to prove it can live with the very best from day one. Who blinks first?