Women’s Super League 2023-2024: Preview, schedule, and how to watch top flight English football

After a lengthy break due to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, domestic football in England is set to return to our screens this week.

The opening round of Women’s Super League games will take place on Sunday 1 October, with last year’s runners-up - Manchester United - travelling to Aston Villa for the first instalment of action.

Reigning champions Chelsea, meanwhile, will host Tottenham in the final game of the weekend.

Ahead of a new season, Olympics.com looks at what we could expect from a new campaign and three new arrivals to the league who could make a big impact…

Women's Super League: Who are the favourites? Who are the ones to watch?

Going into the 2023/2024 campaign as reigning Champions, Chelsea are no doubt the favourites to take home the title once more. Despite the departures of Magdalena Eriksson and Pernille Harder in the English summer break, they have strengthened accordingly with the arrival of Catarina Macario and Ashley Lawrence in particular.

Last season they were pushed to the final day of the campaign by Manchester United, who finally broke into the top three - something they were yet to do since gaining promotion to the WSL in 2019. The Reds were unbeaten in all league games last term apart from two - their home and away games against the Blues. Marc Skinner’s side has had quite the squad overhaul in the summer window, with arguably their most important loss being right-back Ona Batlle who joined FC Barcelona; but with plenty of incomings, they look to have built a squad capable of challenging for honours once more.

They’ll be chased down by Arsenal, who had a somewhat disappointing campaign last season due to an unfortunate run of injuries which saw star names Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, and Leah Williamson suffer with ACL knee troubles. Despite that, they still finished third in a UEFA Champions League qualifiication spot. Their European dreams were short-lived, knocked out by Paris FC in the first round of qualifiers, which could be a blessing in disguise for their domestic title hopes, allowing them to focus solely on English football for this term.

Aston Villa are a side who have finished middle of the pack for the last few seasons but could threaten to break into that top three group in the upcoming campaign under Carla Ward. Having retained the services of Rachel Daly - the league’s top-scorer in 22/23 - and signed electric winger Kirsty Hanson on a permanent deal, not to mention securing the services of highly-coveted Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar, they are certainly one to watch for the upcoming campaign.

At the other end of the table, Brighton have invested significantly this summer having finished a narrow five points off relegation last time out. Their arrivals have included experienced professionals Pauline Bremer, Vicky Losada, and Tatiana Pinto - a real statement of intent from manager Melissa Phillips, who took on the job at the back end of last season to keep the Seagulls afloat. With an overhaul of players now in their ranks, the expectation will be for them to climb the table to the middle of the pack.

This season’s newly promoted side is Bristol City, who return to the top flight at the second time of asking. In 2020/21, the Robins were relegated from the top tier before a third-placed finish in the Championship. Continuing to make strides under head coach Lauren Smith, they topped the second division to secure safe passage back to the top. Highly-rated defender Brooke Aspin signed with Chelsea on the back of an impressive season, but her services were retained on a loan basis, which could be crucial to their campaign.

New arrivals: Players to watch

Catarina Macario (Chelsea)

Replacing a player like Pernille Harder in your squad is a difficult feat, even for the likes of Chelsea - but Emma Hayes identified the ideal replacement in Catarina Macario. Joining from European giants Lyon, a bit of patience may be required with the American who will be returning to action following an ACL injury when she hits the ground running with the Blues. If she can find the kind of form she was in pre-injury, the USA Olympian will once again be unplayable.

Geyse (Manchester United)

With the loss of Alessia Russo upon the expiry of her contract, and subsequently watching her join league rivals Arsenal, Manchester United needed to make a statement in the transfer window to bring in a replacement up top. The club forked out a hefty sum to bring in Geyse from UCL champions FC Barcelona. A player of high calibre, the Brazilian brings a wealth of experience to their front line despite being just 25, including crucial Champions League endeavours which the Reds will no doubt benefit from.

Janina Leitzig (Leicester City)

Leitzig has proven one of the most influential transfers of late in the WSL. She joined a struggling Leicester City side on loan in the winter window and inspired them to safety in the top tier. This summer, however, the Foxes made that deal permanent, bringing her to the WSL indefinitely. Heavy investment has gone into Willie Kirk’s side during the winter window as they look to climb the table, but bringing Leitzig back to the club could prove to be their most crucial piece of business.

Opening weekend: Schedule and how to watch Women's Super League action

The opening round of WSL fixtures will take place on Sunday 1 October 2023.

Sunday 1 October

• Aston Villa vs Manchester United, 12:30 BST
• Everton vs Brighton, 13:00 BST
• Bristol City vs Leicester City, 14:00 BST
• Arsenal vs Liverpool, 14:00 BST
• West Ham vs Manchester City, 15:00 BST
• Chelsea vs Tottenham Hotspur, 17:30 BST

Villa vs United will kick off the season opener and will be shown live in the UK on BBC One, while the evening kick-off between Chelsea and Spurs is set to be broadcast on Sky Sports.

The other features will be shown on the FA’s dedicated broadcast platform, The FA Player, which is available worldwide, too.