Birmingham City Ready to Face Manchester City in WSL Opener

Birmingham City are back in the big time, and Amy Merricks is not in the mood for deference.

On Sunday, her newly promoted side walk straight into the champions’ den: Manchester City away at the Joie Stadium, 14:30 BST, opening day of the 2026-27 Women’s Super League season. Same ground, same opponent, but a very different Birmingham from the one that left here broken in May 2022 after a 6-0 defeat and relegation.

This time, Merricks is talking about going “toe-to-toe” with the title holders.

From relegation scars to a statement return

Birmingham’s journey back has been long and unforgiving. Four years in the second tier, a rebuild, a reset, and finally the WSL 2 title clinched on the final day of last season. Promotion sealed, scars still visible, but the mood transformed.

Now comes the harsh reality of the top flight: a first assignment against a Manchester City side who turned their home ground into a fortress last season, winning all 11 WSL matches there.

Merricks, though, is leaning into the challenge, not away from it.

“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,” she 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.”

Identity over fear

Birmingham did not come up as a cautious, survival-first side. They attacked their way out of the second tier, averaging 2.09 goals per game and earning a reputation as one of the most progressive teams in the division.

Merricks has no intention of parking that identity at the WSL door just because the opponents are stronger.

“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.”

Those cup runs did more than build belief. They left an impression on the very team Birmingham now face.

City remember the warning shot

Five months to the day before Sunday’s clash, Manchester City had to grind out a 1-0 win away at Birmingham in the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup. No procession, no gulf in class on the night. Just a tight, tactical battle that forced the champions to work.

Man City head coach Andree Jeglertz has not forgotten.

“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,” he 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.”

That energy will meet a side beginning something new of their own. For the first time in a decade, Manchester City start a season as defending league champions.

Champions who refuse to protect

The temptation after a title win is to guard what you have. Jeglertz wants none of 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.”

City’s drive will have to withstand early-season absences. Forward Vivianne Miedema is out until at least late autumn with a knee injury, stripping the champions of one of their most clinical attacking options. Defender Rebecca Knaak will also miss the opener because of a foot problem.

There is some relief: defender Jade Rose and midfielder Grace Clinton have returned to training. But there is uncertainty too, with summer signing Niamh Charles described as “a big question mark” for Sunday.

A brutal opening test

For Birmingham, this is as tough as a welcome-back gift gets: away to champions, at a stadium where nobody in the league left with a point last season, haunted by memories of a 6-0 defeat that once sent them down.

Yet the tone from Merricks is clear. No nostalgia, no fear, no talk of damage limitation.

Her team come up with goals in their boots, an attacking identity she refuses to compromise, and the conviction that they can compete with the best.

On Sunday, we find out whether that belief holds when the champions turn up the volume.