New season but same key question: can anyone stop Chelsea?

Summer of record fees and manager changes give rivals hope of denying champions their seventh title in a row

- Tom Garry

After a breathless summer that included heart-stopping penalty shootouts, a swath of managerial changes and even the women's game's first £1m transfer fee, as the new Women's Super League season arrives, the million-dollar question is, can anyone stop Chelsea?

They have won six WSL titles in a row and they notched up a record points tally last term to win the championship by their largest margin yet - 12. Ominously for their rivals, they appeared to have strengthened their squad even further during the final hours of the transfer window with the signing of the United States winger Alyssa Thompson from Angel City. Chelsea appear to be getting only stronger.

Sonia Bompastor's side will begin their campaign at home to Manchester City tonight, a fixture with a blockbuster feel at Stamford Bridge. A third of the teams in the top flight have changed managers and the visitors' new head coach, the Swede Andrée Jeglertz, is hoping to transform the fortunes of a club that have not won the league since 2016.