Birmingham City Faces Manchester City in Women's Super League Opener

Birmingham City will walk back into the Women’s Super League on Sunday with the toughest welcome the fixture list could throw at them: champions Manchester City, away, at the scene of their darkest recent day.

Same stadium. Same opponent. Very different Birmingham.

From 6-0 heartbreak to top-flight defiance

The Joie Stadium still holds a brutal memory for Blues. In May 2022, a 6-0 defeat there sealed their relegation and sent them tumbling out of the top division after more than a decade among the elite.

They spent four seasons clawing their way back. Last term they finally did it, clinching the WSL 2 title on the final day and dragging the club out of the second tier with a front-foot, attacking style that made them one of the most watchable sides in the division.

Now, on the opening weekend of the 2026-27 campaign, they return to Manchester. The champions are waiting. Unbeaten at home last season. Eleven league games at the Joie, eleven wins.

Amy Merricks isn’t blinking.

“I think it’s a great time to play Man City. 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,” the Birmingham head coach said in her pre-match media conference.

“Our focus is on ourselves, we appreciate and respect who they are and what they have, but our mindset doesn’t change.”

No backing down from attacking identity

Birmingham didn’t win promotion by edging their way over the line. They went for teams. They scored an average of 2.09 goals per game and built a reputation as a side that prefers to ask questions rather than sit and hope.

The obvious temptation now? Tighten up, play safe, abandon the ambition that got them here.

Merricks wants no part of that.

“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, 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.”

That last line is not empty talk. Manchester City know exactly how awkward Birmingham can be.

City wary after FA Cup scare

Sunday’s fixture lands five months to the day since the sides met in the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup. On paper, it looked routine. In reality, Birmingham turned it into a grind.

Manchester City edged it 1-0 away, but Andree Jeglertz came away with a clear warning about what awaits his side this weekend.

“We had a tough game against them last year. 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,” the City boss said.

“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.”

City swept all before them at home last season on their way to the title, turning the Joie Stadium into a fortress after years of near-misses. This is their first league title defence in a decade. The pressure is different now. The target is on their back again.

Jeglertz wants his players to ignore that.

“We are still chasing, chasing to win again. 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.”

Early injury tests for champions

City’s depth will be tested early. Vivianne Miedema, their marquee forward, will be out until at least late autumn with a knee injury, removing one of the league’s most lethal finishers from Jeglertz’s immediate plans.

Defender Rebecca Knaak will also miss the visit of Birmingham because of a foot problem, trimming options at the back.

There is some relief. Defender Jade Rose and midfielder Grace Clinton have returned to training and are edging closer to involvement. But summer signing Niamh Charles remains, in Jeglertz’s words, “a big question mark” for Sunday.

So the champions begin their defence slightly patched up, up against a promoted side brimming with belief and refusing to compromise on their identity.

Birmingham know what happened the last time they left the Joie Stadium as a WSL club. On Sunday, they get the chance to show how much has changed – and whether their bold promise to go toe-to-toe with the champions can really hold under the fiercest glare the league can offer.