The latest instalment of the 2025-26 Women's Super League season is upon us, with matchday three offering intriguing battles at both ends of the table. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham remain the only sides to maintain their perfect starts to the campaign, while the London City Lionesses, West Ham United and Liverpool are still without a point to their name.
It was Manchester City against Huddersfield Town in 1987. I must have been about nine years old at the time. I always had a big family of City followers, so I was probably always going to be a blue rather than a red, but it was confirmed after this match as we won 10-1! I was with my uncle at the back of the North Stand at Maine Road. It doesn't get much better than that for a first game.
Man City did a lot of encouraging business during the summer, but they failed to address their biggest area of weakness: right-back. A deal was sought for Newcastle and England star Tino Livramento, but in the end, neither he nor anyone else made the move. And this has left Pep Guardiola with a lack of options, with Matheus Nunes and Rico Lewis expected to fight it out to be Man City's starter
To begin, England defender John Stones was recently sent home from the Three Lions' September camp after complaining of a minor muscle injury. It remains to be seen just how bad that problem is for the City and whether he will feature against Manchester United this weekend. "He came with minor issues and didn't progress as we thought and hoped he would, so he left camp this morning," said Thomas Tuchel when asked about Stones' omission from England's two internationals against Andorra and Serbia.
Having sealed their place in the Champions League on the final day of last season, Manchester City will aim to reach the knockout stage after a season away following their play-off defeat to Real Madrid following the 2024/25 league phase. City finished third in the Premier League during a season of struggle by their stratospheric standards and have landed another date with Madrid in the league phase this time in Europe, as well as a meeting with menacing striker Erling Haaland's former club, Borussia Dortmund.
He has been a top selection. I would say that he is quite close to what I feel I am. He is so calm but he is also very decisive. In the winter transfer window he couldn't be here, he was at Sporting but I've seen it in the last few months, the criteria he has and the way he sees football. The decisions on players -- I think we are in top hands.
The future of Rodrygo Goes at Real Madrid is once again dominating headlines, with the Brazilian forward weighing up his options amid growing competition for minutes at the Santiago Bernabeu. During the summer transfer window, Rodrygo's representatives tested the market. Sources close to the agents industry have informed CaughtOffside that his agents offered him to Liverpool, but the Merseyside club showed little interest in pursuing a deal. Tottenham Hotspur explored the possibility but never submitted a formal bid.