Daily Times

LONDON: Manchester United Women will play Liverpool in their first match since the previous team was disbanded in 2005 after they were drawn together in the League Cup group stage as the fixtures for the 2018-19 season were released by the FA on Wednesday. Second-tier United, managed by former England captain Casey Stoney, will travel to top division side Liverpool in Group Two North of the Women’s Super League Cup on Aug. 19. The competition includes 22 teams in four groups divided into north and south sections with the top two teams from each group going into the quarter-finals. Arsenal are the holders. Stoney’s United team, which was only established earlier this summer, will also be competing in the second-tier Women’s Championship starting at Aston Villa on Sept. 9. Champions Chelsea open their Super League campaign at home to 2016 winners Manchester City on the same weekend. It is the inaugural campaign for England’s highest three divisions in their rebranded form, with the top-tier Super League becoming fully professional for the first time with 11 teams competing. The Championship will have 12 teams comprising a mixture of full-time and part-time. The third-tier National League has six regional sub-divisions at amateur level. The fixtures for the FA Women’s Cup, which was won by Chelsea last season, will be announced at a later date.

Published in Daily Times, August 2^nd 2018.