Birmingham City Ready to Challenge Manchester City in WSL Opener
Birmingham City will not tiptoe back into the Women's Super League. Amy Merricks is taking them straight into the fire.
On Sunday, the newly crowned WSL 2 champions walk out at the Joie Stadium to face Manchester City, the reigning title holders who did not drop a single point at home last season. Eleven games. Eleven wins. A fortress.
And yet Merricks is not blinking.
"I think it's a great time to play Man City," the Birmingham head coach said ahead of the opener. "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."
From relegation pain to a rematch
The fixture carries scars. The last time Birmingham visited this ground in the league, in May 2022, they were thrashed 6-0 and sent spiralling out of the top flight. That defeat sealed their relegation and began a four-year stay in the second tier.
They clawed their way back. On the final day of last season, Birmingham clinched the WSL 2 title, dragging themselves over the line and into the top division again. Now the calendar has handed them a brutal kind of symmetry: promotion celebrated, then a return to the scene of their lowest point.
Merricks, though, has no interest in ghosts.
"Our focus is on ourselves, we appreciate and respect who they are and what they have, but our mindset doesn't change," she said.
Identity over fear
Birmingham arrive with a clear attacking identity. Last season they averaged 2.09 goals per game and built a reputation as one of the most progressive sides in the division. Moving up a level will not change that, Merricks insists.
"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."
She knows the scale of the step. She is not downplaying the task.
"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."
That last line will not have been lost on Andree Jeglertz.
City wary after cup scare
Exactly five months before Sunday’s meeting, Manchester City were pushed to the edge by Birmingham in the Women's FA Cup quarter-finals. City escaped with a 1-0 win away from home, but it was a grind.
"We had a tough game against them last year," Jeglertz admitted. "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 expects the same intensity from a side buzzing off promotion.
"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."
City begin their first league title defence in a decade. The last time they started a campaign as champions, a different era of the club was in full swing. Now, with the WSL more competitive than ever, Jeglertz is refusing to let his players slip into a protective mindset.
"We are still chasing, chasing to win again," he said. "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."
Early injury hurdles for champions
City will have to navigate the opener with key absentees. Vivianne Miedema, their marquee forward, is out until at least late autumn with a knee injury. Defender Rebecca Knaak will also miss the Birmingham clash because of a foot problem.
There is some relief. Defender Jade Rose and midfielder Grace Clinton have returned to training, offering Jeglertz more depth as the season begins. But there is fresh uncertainty too: summer signing Niamh Charles remains "a big question mark" for Sunday.
So the champions are not at full strength. The promoted side arrives with goals in their boots and nothing to lose. The last meeting between the two was tight and tactical; the last league visit here was brutal and decisive.
This time, Merricks promises Birmingham will go "toe-to-toe" with the champions. On opening day, in front of a club that once sent them down, we find out if that defiance can hold under the brightest lights in the country’s hardest league.
