Pep Guardiola conspicuously left Phil Foden on the bench for Manchester City’s lofty clash with Liverpool on Sunday after promising to “protect” his out of form playmaker.
The England international has endured an odd season. After a desperately disappointing 2024–25 campaign, both collectively and individually, Foden struck a rich vein of form for City at the turn of the year.
The 25-year-old rattled in six goals across four Premier League appearances as November bled into December—one shy of his tally from the entirety of last season—to inspire feverish talk of a charge for England’s World Cup squad.
However, Foden has not registered a goal or an assist in any competition since Dec. 14. This personal dip soon coincided with an underwhelming gully of form for City, which included the nadir of a 2–0 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford. Foden was hooked at half time in that fixture by Guardiola and has not been afforded a Premier League start since.
Yet, Guardiola’s faith in his footballing son has not faded just yet.
Man City Starting XI vs. Liverpool
No Phil Foden but both Omar Marmoush and Erling Haaland in the team. | FotMob
(4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guéhi, Rayan Aït-Nouri; Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Nico O’Reilly; Antoine Semenyo, Erling Haaland, Omar Marmoush.
Substitutes: James Trafford (GK), Rúben Dias, Tijjani Reijnders, Nathan Aké, Rayan Cherki, Nico González, Phil Foden, Max Alleyne, Rico Lewis
Guardiola: Foden Will Be Back
Pep Guardiola (left) has full faith in Phil Foden. | Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Getty Images
Foden has not been exclusively consigned to the bench during his Premier League absence. The fleet-footed playmaker started the dire Champions League defeat to Bodø/Glimt and proved to be largely anonymous in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final victory over Newcastle United.
Guardiola accepted that there had been a drop-off in Foden’s performances but defended his player fiercely ahead of Sunday’s trip to Anfield. “Step by step he will be back. He’s my son. He’s our son,” the Catalan coach told assembled media.
“We try to protect him and get him back to his best. We need his best to come back where we are. He’s a human being. Eight or nine years careers, sometimes you have ups and downs. It’s simple as that.
“I’m not going to be the one that doubts the quality of Phil and how important he is.”
Foden Finds New Midfield Competition
Nico O’Reilly has been in fine form this season. | Carl Recine/Getty Images
Foden has had no shortage of fierce competition for places during his near decade in City’s first team. After outlasting the likes of David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan, the scheming left-footer now finds himself up against another talented academy graduate.
When City dominated Liverpool in a 3–0 win back in November, a key aspect of that performance was Nico O’Reilly’s ability to shut down Mohamed Salah at left back. After breaking into the England international setup in that position, the precocious 20-year-old has fought his way into midfield.
The towering figure started in a trio against Newcastle, Galatasaray and Tottenham Hotspur before finding himself in the first XI for the trip to Liverpool alongside Rodri and Bernardo Silva. While O’Reilly lacks some of Foden’s craft—though he has his own qualities on the ball—his hulking presence and defensive instincts have been greatly valued by Guardiola in this new age of enhanced physicality.
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