CAN anyone unseat six-straight Women’s Super League Champions Chelsea? That is the question on every football fan’s mind in the lead-up to this weekend’s season openers.

Last season’s runners-up Arsenal made Canadian forward Olivia Smith the first seven-figure pound sterling signing in July, a world record for the women’s game already broken by Mexico forward Lizbeth Ovalle’s £1.1 million move from Tigres to Orlando Pride.

The Gunners once again look the likeliest to challenge Sonia Bompastor’s serial winners for the title and last season’s Champions League final triumph against strong favourites Barcelona will no doubt fuel their belief that anything is possible.

Captain Leah Williamson is set to miss the beginning of the season as she recovers from a knee injury sustained at the Euros, where England successfully defended their title in the dramatic penalty shoot-out final against Spain.

Six of those European champions are also Gunners — though young player of the tournament Michelle Agyemang has rejoined Brighton on a season-long loan.

Chloe Kelly has signed a permanent deal at Arsenal following a brilliant half-season loan campaign and an incredible summer, capped off when she fired home the winning penalty in the European championship final.

This season’s newcomers, London City Lionesses, are perhaps the most intriguing yet as the only independent side in the women’s top flight.

The Bromley-based club’s owner, US billionaire Michele Kang, is a proponent of multi-club ownership in the women’s game.

When she acquired the Lionesses in December 2023, Kang added to a portfolio under her women’s sport empire that already included Washington Spirit and Lyon’s women.

In June, she was also appointed chairwoman and CEO of Lyon’s parent company, Eagle Football Group, also becoming CEO of Lyon, shortly before it was announced the Ligue 1 side had won their appeal with the French football authorities and would not be demoted to the second tier over financial troubles.

Kang replaced John Textor — the former Crystal Palace co-owner who resigned from his leadership positions — and a statement from Lyon following the successful appeal pointed to “the ambition of the club’s new management team.”

The 66-year-old has certainly made her ambitions with London City clear. Last June, they completed the purchase of the 28-acre Kent training ground, aiming to revamp it into one utterly bespoke to the female athletes it serves.

London City have also welcomed a whopping 14 new additions so far this summer, including former Manchester United captain Katie Zelem, forward Nikita Parris, who has more than 70 England caps, and experienced former Arsenal midfielder Danielle van de Donk, who joined from Lyon.

How long manager Jocelyn Precheur’s group will take to gel — and just how far up the table they might finish in their debut top flight campaign — will begin to be answered when they travel to Ashburton Grove on Saturday to face Arsenal in their WSL opener.

With the league set to expand from 12 to 14 teams next season, there are also some structural differences to note.

The top two WSL2 (formerly Championship) sides will automatically be promoted, while the 12th placed WSL team and third-placed WSL2 team will go head-to-head in a relegation play-off.