Fresh off its first WSL title since 2016, late-season injury and pending roster shifts are spelling uncertainty at Manchester City.
USWNT and City midfielder Sam Coffey underwent minor knee surgery last week, sitting out Saturday’s season finale while also expected to miss the US’s June friendlies against Brazil.
“Coffey moved to the Joie Stadium in January from Portland Thorns and made an instant impact, featuring 10 times in her first four months at the Club,” Manchester City said in a team statement.
“But the US international will now work on recovery over the summer ahead of a busy upcoming season.”
Three-time reigning Golden Boot winner — and 2025/26 Player of the Season — Khadija “Bunny” Shaw’s future also hangs in the balance. The Jamaica international’s contract is subsequently set to expire this summer.
Anticipating a move, Chelsea has reportedly offered the 29-year-old upwards of $1 million to transfer.
“I’ve always said Manchester is my home — it’s where I want to be“ Bunny Shaw told Sky Sports. “There’s a lot of things which go on behind the scenes which I won’t talk about now. But I’ve always been proud of all the girls.“
USWNT star Sam Coffey has sealed the deal, with WSL side Manchester City announcing on Wednesday that they've signed the 27-year-old through 2029.
Manchester City reportedly paid $875,000 in transfer fees for the midfielder, after Coffey led the Portland Thorns to one NWSL title in her four years with the NWSL club.
"Sam's reputation as one of the world's best speaks for itself," said Man City director of football Therese Sjögran in the WSL club's announcement. "We're delighted she's chosen to come here ahead of other potential suitors."
"Sam is playing at the top of her game, and I think her decision to come here shows the incredible progress we've made as a Club and the ambitions we have moving forward," added Sjögran.
City's ambitions are rising alongside their place on the WSL table, where the Citizens currently sit six points clear atop the standings thanks to global stars like Bunny Shaw and Vivianne Miedema.
Coffey's move, however, continues to tip the USWNT's scales away from the NWSL, with over half of the starting XI from the 2024 Olympic gold-medal match now playing club football in Europe — at least for now.
"For as long as I've kicked a ball, I've always dreamed of playing professional soccer in Europe," Coffey said in an emotional letter to Portland on social media. "I would never forgive myself if I didn't go try."
How to watch Manchester City this weekend
Though the date of Coffey's European debut is still unknown, Manchester City will next take the pitch against third-flight club Bournemouth in the fourth round of the 2025/26 FA Women's Cup at 8 AM ET on Sunday before facing a top-tier battle against WSL champion Chelsea in the League Cup semifinals next Wednesday.
WSL action for the Citizens will then resume on Sunday, January 25th, when Man City takes on the London City Lionesses at 6:55 AM ET on ESPN+.
The WSL appears to have a serious 2025/26 title race on its hands, after No. 1 Manchester City cemented their six-point lead on six-time reigning champs No. 2 Chelsea with Sunday's lopsided 6-1 win over No. 8 Aston Villa.
City striker Bunny Shaw scored four times in the victory, bringing her all-time club tally to 103 goals — and becoming the first woman to reach the century scoring mark in the team's modern era.
"Coming into this game, I knew that if I scored it would have been a really good milestone for me," she told BBC Radio.
Manchester City have been perfect since dropping their 2025/26 season opener — a 2-1 loss to six-time champions Chelsea — with the Citizens now carrying a 10-match WSL winning streak into 2026.
While Chelsea and No. 3 Arsenal have ample ground to make up on the WSL table, both managed to keep pace by snagging their own multi-goal wins over the weekend.
After No. 10 Everton snapped the Blues' 34-game WSL unbeaten streak last week, goals by France international Sandy Baltimore and USWNT star Alyssa Thompson shot Chelsea past No. 7 Brighton 3-0 on Sunday.
Arsenal is also back to their winning ways, taking down Everton 3-1 on Saturday to hold off No. 4 Manchester United as captain Leah Williamson returned from injury.
How to watch the WSL in 2026
Now on holiday break, the WSL will return at 7:30 AM ET on January 10th, when Arsenal will kick off 2026 play against Manchester United at Emirates Stadium, airing live on ESPN+.
After a dramatic 3-0 win over crosstown rival Manchester United on Saturday, Manchester City is now leading the WSL, sitting three points clear atop the 2025/26 league table while notably extending their advantage over second-place powerhouse Chelsea FC.
The home side scored all three of their goals in the first half, with defender Rebecca Knaak putting City ahead in the 26th minute before attacker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw added to the lead in the 43rd minute.
Returning from injury with a vengeance, forward Lauren Hemp sealed the deal for the Citizens with the final goal in first-half stoppage time.
"It's so nice to be back," Hemp said postgame. "Today we showed the mentality that I said at the start we needed to show."
While reigning six-time WSL champions Chelsea have yet to lose a match this WSL season, a trio of 2025/26 draws has the Blues now trailing the current eight-win, one-loss record held by Manchester City.
As for United, the WSL third-place Red Devils were without star goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce in Saturday's loss, after the USWNT net-minder suffered a fractured eye socket in November 8th's 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.
"She should be fine, it's just trying to make sure she doesn't get another knock in that area," said United manager Marc Skinner, noting that Tullis-Joyce could return as soon as the club's 2025/26 Champions League match against VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday.
USWNT rising star Alyssa Thompson is officially on her way to London, with the NWSL's Angel City and WSL side Chelsea FC finalizing the 20-year-old's reported £1 million transfer ahead of the UK league's 2025/26 season kick-off on Friday.
The two clubs reached a verbal agreement with Thompson readying to ink a five-year contract on Thursday, just hours before the WSL's 6 PM ET transfer window closure — with six-time reigning league-winners Chelsea set to open their next WSL campaign against Manchester City in a mere 24 hours.
Chelsea has been aggressive in the transfer market this year, as the WSL titan fields mounting pressure from clubs eager to upend the top of the table.
Second-place 2024/25 finishers Arsenal enter the season as UWCL champions, coming off Canadian star Olivia Smith's splashy £1 million transfer while also signing Smith's former Liverpool teammate Taylor Hinds.
Man City will also be looking to better their fourth-place 2024/25 run, hoping for a healthy Bunny Shaw to combine with Dutch phenom Vivianne Miedema while adding ex-Arsenal defender Laura Wienroither and decorated German midfielder Sydney Lohmann to their ranks.
This weekend's WSL action will also feature the newly promoted London City Lionesses, kicking off their top-flight entry against Arsenal on Saturday.
Backed by US-based multi-team owner Michele Kang, London City has also been busy this offseason, bringing on a laundry list of talent including midfielder Daniëlle van de Donk (OL Lyonnes) and forward Nikita Parris (Brighton) plus their own Angel City finds in midfielder Katie Zelem and defender Alanna Kennedy.
How to watch the Barclays WSL season kick-off this weekend
The 2025/26 WSL action kicks off with Chelsea hosting Manchester City at 2:30 PM ET on Friday, before league debutants London City visit Arsenal at 8:30 AM ET on Saturday.
Currently, WSL matches will likely stream live on YouTube, though an official US media partner has not yet been announced.
Chelsea FC is the first team in Women's Super League (WSL) history to claim an unbeaten 22-game season, adding the undefeated moniker to their sixth-straight league title with Saturday's 1-0 win over Liverpool.
The Blues' perfect season joins the previous unbeaten campaigns of 2012's Arsenal, 2016's Manchester City, and Chelsea's own 2018 squad — though those three teams did so in 14, 16, and 18 games, respectively.
Chelsea finishes the 2024/25 campaign with an astounding 19 wins and three draws, missing just six possible points on the table en route to their new WSL record of 60 points in a single season.
"As a manager, players, and staff, you only live these moments maybe once in your life," said Chelsea head coach Sonia Bompastor following Saturday's history-making win. "You need to enjoy it because it is a great achievement."
Trailing Chelsea's impressive winning tally by a full 12 points, Arsenal secured second place with a 4-3 victory over third-place Manchester United in their Saturday season finale.
WSL standouts secure individual 2024/25 awards
Though they missed the WSL's team trophy, the Gunners did claim some individual hardware this weekend, as voters selected midfielder Mariona Caldentey as the inaugural winner of the WSL Player of the Season award.
The 29-year-old Spain international led the league in shot creation, and put up nine goals and five assists on the WSL stat sheet this season.
Caldentey's teammate Alessia Russo also walked away with a trophy, sharing the Golden Boot with fourth-place Manchester City's Khadija "Bunny" Shaw after both forwards scored 12 goals each on the season.
Also sharing a stat-sheet title is Chelsea's Hannah Hampton and Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who claimed the 2024/25 WSL Golden Glove award behind 13 clean sheets apiece.
Meanwhile, the season's WSL Rising Star award went to ninth-place West Ham striker Shekiera Martinez. After spending the first half of the 2024/25 season on loan to Bundesliga side SC Freiburg, the 23-year-old German international notched an astounding 10 goals in her 12 total WSL matches.
Speaking of impressive scoring, Manchester City forward Vivianne Miedema's stellar chip against Aston Villa in January earned the Dutch star the 2024/25 WSL Goal of the Season title.
China PR pulled out of their June 3rd friendly against the USWNT, according to a Friday US Soccer release which announced that Jamaica will replace the 2022 Asian Cup winners at Energizer Park in St. Louis.
As of now, China will still face the USWNT on May 31st in St. Paul, marking the first of the US’s upcoming two-game international break.
"After initially agreeing to play two matches during the upcoming FIFA window, the Chinese Football Association subsequently informed US Soccer that its Women’s National Team could play only the first match," USSF said in its statement.
The federation did not provide an explanation for China’s cancelation, quickly tapping Jamaica as stand-ins.
USWNT to contend with Concacaf foes Jamaica
Despite sharing a confederation, the US and Jamaica have only squared off six prior times, with June's match marking the teams' first meeting in three years.
The last clash between the pair occurred at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, where the US walked away from the pitch with a 5-0 victory over the Reggae Girlz.
Led by Manchester City striker Khadija "Bunny" Shaw, Jamaica earned spots in the last two World Cups, advancing to the Round of 16 for the first time ever in the 2023 edition.
The pair's upcoming seventh meeting will also serve as a celebration of retired USWNT captain and local product Becky Sauerbrunn, with US Soccer calling the decorated defender "the greatest female player in St. Louis soccer history."