After only missing out on the WSL title last season by one point, Birmingham City will want to make sure they start the season flying, with a win over fellow title contenders Manchester City.
The Blues will head in to the match brimming with confidence having beaten current WSL 1 champions Liverpool in the FA Cup – their first competitive game of the season.
Karen Carney, who recently became the first female player to be added to the Birmingham City Hall of Fame, is likely to return to David Parker’s starting XI having missed the recent FA Cup game through suspension.
Carney was the Blues top goal scorer last season.
Manchester City look to improve on last season’s 5th place finish and have been very busy in the summer adding six new players to their squad. Their additions include striker Nikita Parris, on loan from Everton Ladies. Parris scored a hat-trick on her debut in the FA Women’s Cup and will be hoping to add to her tally against Birmingham this weekend.
England striker Toni Duggan also got on the score sheet in City’s recent cup game after coming off the bench. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News this week she said:
“People put us up there last year but I think that was mind games to be honest. They put us up there to fail but we knew from within what our aims were and I think overall you can look at last year as a success.”
She added: “There’s a confidence and a belief amongst us all and hopefully we can put in better performances and a higher level of consistency than last year.
“We’ve added a lot more new faces so we can start to be more realistic about challenging for a couple more trophies instead of just going for one. I think we’ve got the quality of players there.”
