2024/2025 Women’s Super League: Which teams are best equipped to end Chelsea’s dominance?
Can anyone stop the Blues from winning a sixth consecutive English domestic WSL title?
Football
The Women’s Super League is back, with the 2024/2025 season of the top English football league kicking off on Friday, 20 September.
Reigning champions Chelsea host Aston Villa in the curtain-raiser, as the London side begin their quest for a staggering sixth consecutive domestic title.
The Blues are the overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy come next May, even despite a significant change of manager for the first time in 12 years.
Emma Hayes built a dynasty in west London, but now it is down to Sonia Bompastor to take the side to the next level.
Having strengthened well in the face of losing key players, the French manager has a talented squad to work with as she looks to continue their winning streak.
But it will be far from smooth sailing, with several other clubs eyeing the trophy themselves. Only a handful, however, are in a position to challenge at the top.
Below, Olympics.com assess which clubs are best equipped to prevent Chelsea from six-peating.
Manchester City
Perhaps the most obvious choice for Chelsea’s closest WSL competitor is Manchester City.
Last season, Gareth Taylor’s side agonisingly missed out on the title on goal difference. The top two finished with an identical record, but the Blues out-scored them by seven.
In a bid to avoid the same thing occurring this time around, City went into the transfer market and strengthened significantly. Their biggest coup was no doubt the arrival of prolific striker Vivianne Miedema to bolster their attack, coming in on a free after her contract at rivals Arsenal concluded.
The Dutch forward is the all-time top scorer in this league, though has struggled to regain her form since sustaining a gutting ACL injury in late 2022. But if Taylor and his coaching staff can help Miedema rediscover her form, City could ensure they don't miss out on a major title because of goal difference again.
Transfers aside, they have also managed to keep together the core squad that did so well last season. Jill Roord, who sustained an ACL injury midway through last term, is back in team training and will be a big boost to the middle of the park. Then there’s Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, the WSL Golden Boot winner in 24/25.
In terms of the squad, City most definitely look to have the strongest to challenge Chelsea. They have only strengthened, which is why they are likely to pose the biggest threat to the latter’s dominance over the league.
Arsenal
Arsenal can never really be discounted from challenging at the top of the table in the Women's Super League. You’d have to go back to 2014, when just eight teams graced the English elite division, to see them drop out of the top three. But you’d also have to go back to the 18/19 campaign for their last, and only, league title in that time.
Such a consistent presence at the top, however, means they are almost always in the mix to challenge for major honours.
During the European summer they brought in impressive additions to key areas. Highly touted goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar is a significant signing between the sticks and young midfielder Rosa Kafaji is an exciting talent.
The arrival of Mariona Caldentey from FC Barcelona is their most significant move, though, and could be the key to unlocking low defences that Jonas Eidevall’s side has struggled to break down. Her slick style of play will raise the floor of Arsenal’s approach, but as a bonafide winner at her previous club, she will drive standards on the pitch too.
Last term was somewhat disappointing for the Gunners, who fell away from top two, but positive signings should provide the catalyst for them to return to form and push for the title once more.
Manchester United
After finishing fourth last year, the obvious option to push on would have been Liverpool. But, aside from the signing of Olivia Smith, a quiet transfer window leaves that in question. Instead, Manchester United should be expected to return after an extremely poor outing last time out.
A year ago, the Reds were poised to build on the season prior, when they broke into the top three for the first time and finished narrowly behind victors Chelsea. They’d added talented Brazilian Geyse, World Cup-winning midfielder Irene Guerrero, and four-time UWCL winner Melvine Malard to their ranks, among others. Come the end of 22 games played, though, Marc Skinner had led his team to a dismal fifth, 20 points off Chelsea.
But their 24/25 pre-season transfers make for a potentially exciting comeback, blending youth and experience in a bid to turn fortunes around.
It’s not just the squad that has undergone a makeover, either. At the board level, significant changes have brought what has been deemed the right people in for the right roles, which has a knock-on effect throughout.
This side has undergone big changes in the last two seasons, but if they can gel, fans are hopeful of building on their FA Cup success from May and returning to the kind of form that took them to second two seasons ago.