Birmingham City Faces Manchester City in Women's Super League Opener
Birmingham City stride back into the Women’s Super League on Sunday with the most unforgiving of welcome parties: a trip to champions Manchester City at the Joie Stadium, the same ground where a 6-0 defeat in May 2022 sealed their relegation.
Different division, different era, same stage. Amy Merricks wants a very different script.
“We are here to compete, not just make up the numbers,” the Birmingham head coach insisted before the opener of the 2026-27 campaign. She talked about going “toe-to-toe” with the champions. It didn’t sound like bluster. It sounded like a challenge.
From relegation to return
Birmingham’s route back has been anything but gentle. They only clinched the WSL 2 title on the final day of last season, ending a four-year stay in the second tier with a late surge and an attacking style that lit up the division.
They averaged 2.09 goals per game. They went at teams. They didn’t apologise for it.
That identity, Merricks says, is non-negotiable now they are back among the elite.
“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 not a coach planning to park the bus just because the badge on the other side says Manchester City.
“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 all too well.
Five months ago to the day, Andree Jeglertz’s Manchester City had to grind out a 1-0 win away at Birmingham in the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup. No walkover, no procession. A warning.
“We had a tough game against them last year,” the City boss admitted. “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.”
That FA Cup tie offered a glimpse of how Birmingham might approach Sunday: compact, organised, ruthless on the break. But that was a second-tier side punching up. Now they arrive as champions in their own right, carrying momentum and belief rather than just hope.
“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,” Jeglertz added.
The champions’ standard
Manchester City were flawless at home in the league last season. Eleven home games. Eleven wins. The Joie Stadium became a fortress as they surged to their first WSL title in a decade.
Now comes the hard part: staying there.
Jeglertz is determined his players don’t slip into the mindset of a team protecting what they have.
“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.
City’s squad, though, is not at full strength for the start of that defence. Forward Vivianne Miedema will be out until at least late autumn with a knee injury, stripping the champions of one of their most clinical finishers. Defender Rebecca Knaak also misses the opener with a foot problem.
There is some relief: defender Jade Rose and midfielder Grace Clinton are back in training. But summer signing Niamh Charles remains “a big question mark” for Sunday, leaving Jeglertz juggling options before a ball has been kicked.
No fear, no retreat
On paper, this is a mismatch: champions at home, unbeaten on their own turf last season, against freshly promoted visitors who once crumbled here in brutal fashion.
On the grass, it might feel very different.
Merricks has been clear that Birmingham will not abandon the approach that got them promoted just because the badge in front of them is bigger, the stadium louder, the margin for error slimmer.
“This is the best league in the world, it is going to be tough and a challenge, but what we can't do is lose our strengths,” she said. “We have to amplify those and put ourselves in the best position possible.”
Her words carry an edge. This is not a team grateful simply to be back. This is a group that wants to test itself against the best and see what breaks first: their belief, or City’s perfect home record.
The last time Birmingham walked out at the Joie Stadium, they left with relegation confirmed and a long rebuild ahead. This time, they arrive as champions of the level below, armed with goals, conviction and a coach who refuses to bow to the occasion.
Kick-off is set for 14:30 BST. One side begins the defence of a title. The other tries to prove that the scars of 2022 belong to a different Birmingham City entirely.
