Man City women season preview 2024-25: Vivianne Miedema's arrival can help lift Cityzens to the WSL title

After last season, it would be easy for there to be a hangover feeling around City. They pushed so hard, gave their all and still came up short in their chase to lift the trophy for the first time since 2016. However, that's not the sense you get from talking to the players, the staff or the fans. It feels more like that strong showing has given the team a real boost in belief and a foundation to build on, which they have done by making some exciting signings.

Supporters are certainly happy with the additions made, which have happened alongside Laia Aleixandri and Chloe Kelly, both linked with moves away, staying. The squad is undoubtedly stronger as a result. There are a few concerns about the midfield, sure, but there are also some players on the fringes of the first team who could stake a claim for a big role in there.

At times in previous seasons, there have been varying degrees of negativity towards Taylor, from different parts of the fanbase. Those have certainly evaporated in the past year or so, though, with the coach rarely exposed tactically and having overseen genuine progress with a squad that has changed plenty since he took over. That said, it's two years since this City team last won a trophy and three years since they competed in the Champions League proper. Both are boxes that everyone associated with the club are keen to tick this coming season.

Boosting Man City's chances of a successful campaign is the fantastic transfer business the club has done over the summer. Filippa Angeldahl is the only regular that has departed from last season's team, and she didn't start a league game after February. The likes of Steph Houghton, Esme Morgan, Ellie Roebuck and Demi Stokes were all big characters who understood what it meant to be a City player and their absences will be felt in that sense, but there are plenty of experienced leaders that remain and can step up to help fill their shoes.

Incomings include Ayaka Yamashita, the Japan international who bolsters the goalkeeping department hugely; Naomi Layzell, a really exciting prospect for the defence but one who can also contribute straight away; and Aoba Fujino, the young Japanese winger who has already starred at a World Cup and an Olympic Games.

The marquee signing, though, is undoubtedly Vivianne Miedema. The WSL's all-time top-scorer might have had some big injury concerns in recent seasons, undergoing a second knee surgery earlier this year after a brutal ACL rupture, but it's an absolute no-brainer for Man City to have picked up a genuine world-class talent on a free transfer.

City joined West Ham, Leicester and Paris Saint-Germain in flying to Australia for their pre-season tour, partaking in the inaugural Perth International Football Cup. Taylor's side defeated Leicester on penalties in the first game, after a scoreless 90 minutes, then lost 1-0 to PSG in the friendly tournament's final.

It was a strange couple of games because what stood out the most was how much livelier and unpredictable City's attack looked, thanks to the addition of some new options to provide depth in those areas. Yet, they failed to find the back of the net on the trip. The chances were created, though, and as the old cliché goes, it's when a team isn't creating chances that they should be worried, not when they are not converting them. After all, this team boasts last season's WSL Golden Boot winner, in Khadija Shaw, and its all-time top-scorer, in Miedema, plus players like Kelly and Lauren Hemp.

The team closed pre-season out with two behind-closed-doors friendlies back in England, beating Liverpool 2-1 thanks to goals from Hemp and Jess Park before suffering a narrow defeat by the same scoreline to Aston Villa. Shaw scored the Cityzens' only goal in that final friendly.

How does Miedema fit into a team that already has a dominant No.9, in Shaw? That was one of the main questions going into City's pre-season campaign and the answer was one of the main takeaways from their trip to Australia. A player who often blends the lines between a No.9 and a No.10, it appears Miedema will play the latter role when the two are in the same XI. That provides the Cityzens with a dual attacking threat from two different areas, with Miedema able to back up Shaw's movement with some deep runs to get on the end of chances. Plus, if Shaw needs a rest, Taylor now has another natural centre-forward option, something he didn't have last year.

That does create another dilemma for Taylor though, as Park's sensational form towards the back end of last season has only continued through the summer. The England international was that No.10, so do she and Miedema compete for the same spot? Or can the coach play both in midfield? The latter would surely be a little risky in big games, just because of the lack of defensive steel it would leave City with, but he may think otherwise.

Other potentially interesting positional battles include Aleixandri and Alanna Kennedy fighting for the centre-back role next to Alex Greenwood; Fujino, Kelly, Hemp and Mary Fowler all pushing hard to start in the two wide spots available in City's front three; and the fact that Khiara Keating will have increased competition for the No.1 shirt after Yamashita's arrival. This feels like a stronger, deeper and more competitive squad than last season and, with that, one would expect the Cityzens to be more unpredictable for their opponents.

One player that Man City simply do not have a back-up for, however, is Yui Hasegawa. The Japan star arrived from West Ham in the summer of 2022 as a creative playmaker but, in light of Keira Walsh's move to Barcelona, has reinvented herself as a tremendous holding midfielder. In that time, she has become one of the very best around.

Through pre-season, it felt like Taylor was trialling different options for Hasegawa's distinct role, figuring out who could step in for her if she was absent, needed a rest or the opportunity to grant her a break presented itself. Laura Blindkilde Brown, naturally a No.10 or wide player, impressed when placed in that position, while Aleixandri, a versatile defender who has played there before, also looked solid when given the run-out in midfield.

Both would be decent options from time-to-time in order to give Hasegawa a break and ensure that she can stay fit and firing through the entire 2024-25 season. Her availability will be imperative if City are to hit the heights they desire because the way she dictates games, breaks up play and can split defences open with a clever pass are all elements that make Hasegawa irreplaceable for the big moments and, thus, more valuable than anyone else in this squad.

There were a few young players who impressed on City's tour of Australia. Teenager Gracie Prior showed why she earned a first professional contract earlier this summer, while Layzell looked calm and composed beyond her years after arriving from Bristol City. Both, however, are centre-backs and therefore may find meaningful minutes hard to come by right now, given they are competing with three senior established internationals for those spots, in Kennedy, Aleixandri and Greenwood.

Blindkilde Brown, then, feels like the player best placed to have that breakthrough year in Man City colours. The 21-year-old joined the club in January after rising to the fore at Aston Villa, but has a new challenge on her hands as she tries to establish herself in a team with title ambitions.

Anyone who hasn't seen the Cityzens in pre-season might struggle to understand how she would make in-roads this year, as the arrivals of Fujino and Miedema have added more competition to the wide and No.10 roles that she was most often deployed in at Villa. However, Blindkilde Brown's impressive performances in midfield this summer have opened up new possibilities for this coming season. Watch out for her confidence on the ball, creative passes and mazy dribbles - she's a superb talent.

There should be three main goals at City this season. The first is to get through to the Champions League group stages, and that has almost been achieved already. After back-to-back qualifying exits, Taylor's side weren't even in the competition last season because of a fourth-placed finish in the WSL in 2022-23, with only the top three getting into Europe. However, the Cityzens battered Paris FC 5-0 in the first leg of their second round qualifier this week, an impressive result given the French side eliminated both Arsenal and Wolfsburg, finalists in 2023, last season.

Secondly, City should be competing for the WSL title again this season. They may have added strain on their schedule with the UWCL group stages but their squad is stronger, deeper and more experienced this time around. Winning the league is what the club really wants, because it has been eight years since the women's team were champions of England, but last season showed just how tough that is to achieve. They simply need to fight hard for the title again and see where that gets them.

That said, the third point is that City really need to win a trophy, as the last two seasons have failed to return silverware. It's a fact that puts much more pressure on Taylor this year, in the league and the domestic cup competitions, despite him being in a more secure and positive place in the eyes of the supporters.

Player of the Season:Alex Greenwood. She has been a model of consistency for several years now and stepping into the leadership role vacated by the departing Houghton can help elevate her game even further.

Biggest disappointment:Champions League results. City haven't played in the new group-stage format before and this squad has limited experience of the demands it brings, which could cause them to underwhelm on their return.

Best signing:Aoba Fujino. She is a dynamic, confident and game-changing forward who, at 20 years old, is going to develop week-by-week all while delighting fans.

Top scorer:Khadija Shaw. With 72 goals in her 83 appearances for City to date, it's impossible to pick anyone other than the current holder of the WSL's Golden Boot.

European fate:Quarter-finals. Though draw dependent, City's coefficient should help them for the group stages - it's beyond that where a lack of recent experience could be their undoing.

League position:Champions. Fuelled by last season's heartbreakingly close title race, this stronger City squad can get over the line and deliver a first WSL title since 2016.