Manchester City will kick off their campaign as defending champions of the Women's Super League by taking on newly promoted Birmingham City. This opening match follows the London City Lionesses, who will launch the season against Manchester United, a fixture that will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The full fixture list for the 2026/27 season has now been released, complete with kick‑off times and broadcast allocations for the first four weekends. The league has grown from twelve to fourteen clubs after Birmingham City, Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic earned promotion from WSL 2, meaning more games and a richer schedule for fans. Sky Sports has committed to airing 90 percent of all WSL fixtures live across its main channel and the NOW platform – a total of 163 matches, plus the end‑of‑season play‑off. Selected games will also be streamed on the dedicated Sky Sports WSL YouTube channel, offering fans additional ways to watch.
The expanded schedule also brings greater flexibility, with fewer matches starting simultaneously, allowing supporters to follow more of the action. London City Lionesses, fresh from signing two‑time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas during the summer transfer window, will open their season in front of Sky Sports cameras on Friday 4 September when they travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.
Two days later, on Sunday 6 September, champions Manchester City will host newcomers Birmingham City in what promises to be a marquee showdown on a day that will feature five live games. Other fixtures on the opening Sunday see last season’s runners‑up Arsenal travel to Brighton, Tottenham Hotspur host a London derby against West Ham United, Liverpool visit newly promoted Charlton Athletic, and Crystal Palace – who bounced back to the top flight at the first attempt – take on Everton. Meanwhile, eight‑time champions Chelsea will welcome Aston Villa to Stamford Bridge on Saturday 5 September. Fans are advised to use the Chrome browser for the best video‑player experience when streaming matches online.
Manchester United will have a challenging start to their season. After the opening loss to London City Lionesses, they host Chelsea on Sunday 13 September before heading to the Emirates Stadium to meet Arsenal on Saturday 19 September. Both of those fixtures will be shown live on Sky Sports. Arsenal, in turn, will host Chelsea on Sunday 27 September, also on Sky Sports.
The league’s schedule also highlights the first Merseyside derby of the season, with Everton traveling to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday 27 September – another live broadcast on Sky Sports. Relegation will remain in place despite the league’s expansion. The team finishing at the bottom of the table will be automatically relegated to WSL 2, while the side finishing 13th will enter a play‑off against the runners‑up of the second tier to fight for a place in the top flight for the following season.
Key early‑season fixtures include: - London City Lionesses vs Manchester United, 7:00 pm, live on Sky Sports - Chelsea vs Aston Villa, 12:30 pm - Brighton vs Arsenal, 12:00 pm, live on Sky Sports - Tottenham vs West Ham, 12:00 pm, live on Sky Sports - Charlton vs Liverpool, 2:00 pm, live on Sky Sports - Crystal Palace vs Everton, 2:00 pm, live on Sky Sports - Manchester City vs Birmingham City, 2:30 pm, live on Sky Sports Additional fixtures for the first two weeks of September are scheduled as follows: Saturday 12 September: * West Ham vs London City Lionesses, 12:45 pm * Manchester United vs Chelsea, 12:00 pm * Birmingham City vs Brighton, 2:00 pm * Everton vs Charlton Athletic, 2:00 pm * Liverpool vs Tottenham Hotspur, 2:00 pm * Aston Villa vs Manchester City, 6:30 pm * Manchester City vs Liverpool, 7:00 pm Saturday 19 September: * Chelsea vs Birmingham City, 12:45 pm * Arsenal vs Manchester United, 5:30 pm * Brighton vs Aston Villa, 2:00 pm * Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur, 2:00 pm * West Ham United vs Everton, 2:00 pm Saturday 26 September: * London City Lionesses vs Brighton, 5:00 pm * Manchester United vs West Ham United, 1:00 pm * Birmingham City vs Crystal Palace, 2:00 pm * Liverpool vs Everton, 2:00 pm * Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa, 2:00 pm * Chelsea vs Arsenal, 4:30 pm The season will kick off on 4 September and run through to the final weekend on 22–23 May, with a brief winter break from 21 December to 3 January. The play‑off will be contested on 29–30 May. Sky Sports has enhanced its digital offering for the women's game. The Sky Sports app now provides vertical video highlights, comprehensive match centres with live scores and statistics, and free‑to‑watch highlights from every WSL match.
Subscribers can also enjoy live streams of selected games via the new dedicated WSL YouTube channel, which will feature exclusive interviews, behind‑the‑scenes content and personality‑driven pieces that showcase the league’s stars. Across all its football properties, Sky Sports will broadcast more than 1,500 live matches in the 2026/27 season, covering the Premier League, the English Football League, the Women’s Super League and the Scottish Premiership. This includes 215 Premier League fixtures shown exclusively live, the return of the iconic Super Sunday 4:30 pm slot, and expanded Friday and Monday night coverage, ensuring fans have access to the biggest moments from kickoff to full‑time throughout the football calendar.