Over 20,000 people are expected at the Etihad tomorrow afternoon as the 19/20 Women's Super League gets underway with a momentous fixture between Manchester City and Manchester United.

Whilst Man City Women have been a part of the top flight for a number of years, their opponents reintroduced a women's team in 2018 after a successful application to join the Championship.

The Red Devils dominated the league, earning their promotion to the top tier of women's football after just one season of existence.

Many are anticipating how well they will do in a league with much stronger teams, but there is no doubt that Casey Stoney's side will believe they can establish themselves as a top club in Women's football.

Team News

Both teams have seen some of their most important players move on this summer, with French club Olympique Lyonnais securing two of England's top talents.

Manchester City forward Nikita Parris completed her move to France after the FIFA Women's World Cup, closely followed by the Red Devils captain Alex Greenwood.

There were some key additions to Nick Cushing's City squad, however, with the signings of Ellen White from Birmingham City and Laura Coombs of Liverpool, among others.

Jackie Groenen could be in line to make her debut for Manchester United and is likely to become a mainstay in Stoney's side after an impressive summer at the World Cup, playing an important role in the Netherland's road to the final.

What the managers had to say...

Opening fixtures don't get bigger than this, and the Manchester United boss believes her squad will need to up their game if they're to have a positive season.

Speaking to MUTV, Stoney said: "They know it’s a new challenge. They know that the levels need to go up, [that] there’s going to be new demands.

"It’s an exciting time for us. We aim to be competitive in every game, but we also know it’s our debut season in this league.”

Manchester City manager Nick Cushing considers big games like this to be pivotal to the progression of the Women's game.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: “The competitive games are so enjoyable to watch because they’re all so closely matched.

“For the women’s game, to keep improving and growing, these games are so important because they bring in fans.

"Fans then see the product and our job as coaches and players is to make sure the product the fans see is really enjoyable to watch, which is why we play the style of football that we play. We want to entertain the fans.”

A game for the history books

These two sides are yet to face each other in the professional era, after Manchester United's thirteen-year absence from the game.

Kicking the 19/20 season off with such a huge game at the Etihad will set the tone for what is sure to be an exciting WSL campaign, now with the country's biggest clubs in the top flight.