Champions Chelsea kick off Barclays Women’s Super League season

Arsenal Women v Chelsea Women - Pre Season Friendly
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images

The 2024-25 Barclays Women’s Super League season kicks off with champions Chelsea at home to Aston Villa on Friday, while Arsenal host Manchester City on Sunday.

Chelsea begin their post-Emma Hayes era with Sonia Bompastor at the helm and one absentee will be Sophie Ingle, who sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury during a pre-season match against Feyenoord. The Blues host an Aston Villa side who wrapped up their own warm-up games with a 2-1 win over Manchester City.

Saturday sees Manchester United welcome West Ham to Old Trafford for a noon start, after the Reds lost their final friendly 1-0 to Spurs. Brighton entertain Everton in another lunchtime match, the Seagulls having finished their friendlies with a 2-1 win over Leicester and the Toffees with a goalless draw at Liverpool.

Vivianne Miedema makes a swift return to Arsenal with her new Manchester City teammates on Sunday lunchtime, scoring in their 5-0 Champions League away win at Paris FC on Wednesday. The Gunners were also in UWCL action but lost 1-0 to BK Hacken in Sweden.

Liverpool play Leicester City and Tottenham take on newly-promoted Crystal Palace, who defeated Dutch side ADO Den Haag 4-0 last midweek.

The Barclays Women’s Championship is already in its third week, as the two teams with back-to-back wins – Charlton and Durham – clash at The Valley in an early kick-off.

Newcomers Portsmouth try again to get their first-ever points in the competition but in a difficult trip to Birmingham, Newcastle make their home debut against Sheffield, London City host a Bristol side that has drawn both games to date, while Southampton are visited by Blackburn.

Friday 20 September

Chelsea v Aston Villa (Kingsmeadow, 7pm) – live on BBC2

Saturday 21 September

Manchester United v West Ham United (Old Trafford, 12pm) – live on WSL YouTube/MUTV
Brighton & Hove Albion v Everton (Crawley Town FC, 12.30pm) – live on WSL YouTube

Sunday 22 September

Arsenal v Manchester City (Emirates Stadium, 12.30pm) – live on Sky Sports
Liverpool v Leicester City (St Helens Stadium, 2pm) – live on WSL YouTube
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace (Leyton Orient FC, 2pm) – live on WSL YouTube

Barclays Women’s Championship

Charlton Athletic v Durham (The Valley, 12pm)
Birmingham City v Portsmouth (St Andrews Stadium, 2pm)
London City Lionesses v Bristol City (Bromley FC, 2pm)
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (Kingston Park Stadium, 2pm)
Southampton v Blackburn Rovers (St Mary’s Stadium, 2pm)

North Korea beat USA to reach FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Final

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