Phil Foden May Get Six More Starts as City Narrow Focus

Phil Foden has barely featured since the turn of the year, and Manchester City are down to six remaining games. That leaves the academy graduate facing a thin run of starts as Pep Guardiola narrows his selection choices for the closing stretch.

Guardiola Tightens City Selection

Guardiola said on Friday, “I try to involve everyone,” but added, “but when I arrive in the last part of the season… in the team the vibe is good, I rotate less and make less changes.”

He put that approach into practice on Saturday against Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final, resting first-team regulars and giving minutes to players on the fringes. Foden was the first City player to be substituted, a sharp sign of where he sits in the pecking order right now.

Foden And City’s Six Games

Six games remain for City this campaign: five league matches and the FA Cup final against Chelsea. Foden is unlikely to get many more starts over that stretch, which is a major shift for a player who looked back to his best towards the end of 2025.

His form has not carried over since then. Thomas Tuchel said Foden had “looked bright in training during international breaks but could not replicate that on the pitch,” and that gap has left City leaning harder on the same core group that has settled under Guardiola.

Nico And The Core Group

That core has helped shape City’s 2024-25 season, while fringe players have had to wait. Nico arrived from Porto at the end of last year’s winter transfer window and drew praise from Guardiola, who called him “mini Rodri” after one fine showing, before he later dropped out of the team as Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne helped rescue the season.

Foden’s contract expires in two years, and the presumption is that he will sign an extension. For now, though, his route back into the side runs through a short final stretch and a manager who has already said he rotates less when the season reaches its last part.