The Manchester City women's squad is reading for another Women's Super League season – and looking to go one further than last time.
Club legend Steph Houghton’s retirement means a changing of the guard at City. Gareth Taylor remains in the dugout and will be hoping to go one better than last season where, if not for a dramatic late collapse against Arsenal in their penultimate game, City would have been champions.
They should challenge again – Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly remain the best front three in the league and will be supplemented by Miedema’s arrival from Arsenal. A fit Jill Roord after her ACL injury will be key.
WSL SQUADS Arsenal / Aston Villa / Brighton / Chelsea / Crystal Palace / Everton / Leicester City / Liverpool / Manchester City / Manchester United / Tottenham Hotspur / West Ham United
As a result of finishing second in the Women's Super League last season, Manchester City will enter the Champions League in the second qualifying round. Paris FC are up first, with City's fate known by the end of September.
This means that their League Cup journey is to be determined. Should City qualify for the Women's Champions League group stage, they will enter the League Cup at the quarter-final stage: otherwise, they'll be into League Cup group stage.
We do know, however, that the FA Cup will come around in January. As a WSL outfit, the Cityzens are entering at the fourth round.
FourFourTwo has the full lowdown about the Manchester City women's squad for the following season, including previews on the key player in the side and the manager. Read on to find out more and find out more about all WSL squads here.
Manchester City women's squad
The Manchester City women's squad for the Women's Super League, 2024/25
- GK: Sandy MacIver
- GK: Ayaka Yamashita
- GK: Khiara Keating
- GK: Katie Startup
- DF: Risa Shimizu
- DF: Naomi Layzell
- DF: Laia Aleixandri (vice-captain)
- DF: Alex Greenwood (captain)
- DF: Alanna Kennedy
- DF: Leila Ouahabi
- DF: Kerstin Casparij
- DF: Tara O'Hanlon
- DF: Gracie Prior
- MF: Laura Coombs
- MF: Jill Roord
- MF: Laura Blindkilde Brown
- MF: Yui Hasegawa
- FW: Vivianne Miedema
- FW: Mary Fowler
- FW: Chloe Kelly
- FW: Lauren Hemp
- FW: Jess Park
- FW: Aoba Fujino
- FW: Khadija Shaw
Squad numbers
The Manchester City women's squad numbers for the Women's Super League, 2024/25
| No. | Player | Pos |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Risa Shimizu | DF |
| 3 | Naomi Layzell | DF |
| 4 | Laia Aleixandri (vice-captain) | DF |
| 5 | Alex Greenwood (captain) | DF |
| 6 | Vivianne Miedema | FW |
| 7 | Laura Coombs | MF |
| 8 | Mary Fowler | FW |
| 9 | Chloe Kelly | FW |
| 10 | Jill Roord | MF |
| 11 | Lauren Hemp | FW |
| 14 | Alanna Kennedy | DF |
| 15 | Leila Ouahabi | DF |
| 16 | Jess Park | FW |
| 18 | Kerstin Casparij | DF |
| 19 | Laura Blindkilde Brown | MF |
| 20 | Aoba Fujino | FW |
| 21 | Khadija Shaw | FW |
| 22 | Sandy MacIver | GK |
| 25 | Yui Hasegawa | MF |
| 26 | Tara O'Hanlon | DF |
| 28 | Gracie Prior | DF |
| 31 | Ayaka Yamashita | GK |
| 35 | Khiara Keating | GK |
| 40 | Katie Startup | GK |
Key player
Manchester City women's key player: Alex Greenwood
The experienced defender, who can play at either left-back or centre-back, has been named in the WSL Team of the Year for each of the last three seasons. A lynchpin of the Manchester City team, she previously helped their local rivals win promotion from the Championship.
Greenwood has also claimed silverware at Man City, winning the FA Cup and the League Cup once each, but the WSL title remains their priority. She will have a vital role to play as they seek to regain the trophy and end Chelsea’s winning streak.
Manager
Manchester City women's manager: Gareth Taylor
Gareth Taylor is a different kind of character to what you'd expect of the typical Manchester City overlord in the dugout: a 90s and 2000s journeyman who played at Maine Road for three seasons. This is his first managerial job, having been a youth coach on the men's side of the club since 2011.
