Bristol City

Manager There are few managers with the backstory of 37-year-old Tanya Oxtoby, born in Wickham, a town in Western Australia with a population just shy of 2,000, and arriving in Bristol in 2018, via boarding school, a psychology degree and jobs in the Australian government combating mental illness in indigenous youth, as well as playing spells at Perth Glory and Doncaster Belles.

Pedigree Ironically, Bristol City were first formed as Bristol Rovers Women, in 1998, following a merger between the Bristol Rovers girls’ teams and Welsh side Cable-tel Ladies that gave Rovers their first senior women’s team. In 2005, they became known as Bristol Academy WFC and by 2011, Bristol Academy WFC Ltd were formed. Under Mark Sampson, they reached two FA Cup finals (2011 and 2013) and competed in the Champions League (2011 and 2014). After the 2015 season, they changed their name to Bristol City.

Player to watch Defender Loren Dykes (above right) became just the second player in Welsh football history to reach 100 caps this year, aged 31. Having been at Bristol for over a decade, Dykes began her career as a winger or forward before converting to full-back. Away from the field, she is balancing club commitments with coaching Wales under-15s. Signing of the summer the former Manchester United striker Ebony Salmon, 18, should flourish under Oxtoby and Charlie Wellings, 21, from Birmingham, is another decent capture. Holland under-23 international Vita van der Linden featured for Ajax in the 2018-19 Champions League. Aim this season? To match their finish of last season, sixth – the highest in the club’s history since being renamed Bristol City Women in time for the 2016 edition of the WSL. Biggest hurdle They must keep finding unique ways to compete with teams of greater financial might in a division swollen by the arrival of Manchester United. Predicted finish Sixth.