They already have the EFL Cup in the cabinet, but the next 11 days will determine whether that is it for Manchester City, or if they are able to snatch another domestic double or even treble. Pep Guardiola's team will welcome Crystal Palace to the Etihad on Wednesday night, before the small matter of the FA Cup Final against Chelsea on Saturday and then a trip to Bournemouth next Tuesday.
With three must win fixtures in the space of only seven days, Guardiola has suggested he will be forced to rotate for the first of this trio. Luckily, he does boast plenty of options. Joško Gvardiol remains sidelined and Rodri's availability is still a question mark but, those two aside, everyone is good to go. Wanting to keep some key players fresh for Saturday's Wembley date, expect a few non-regular starters to be given a chance, so which three Sky Blues really need to come to the fore?
Phil Foden
Once the poster boy of Manchester City's dominance, Phil Foden has once again not had a season to shout about. The Englishman's tally of ten goals and five assists is far from embarrassing, albeit he hasn't scored since netting against Crystal Palace all the way back on 14 December.
As a result, he has not started any of the Citizens' last six Premier League matches, named in the XI only twice since the derby defeat at Old Trafford on 17 January. Still only 25 years old, Foden unquestionably has plenty to offer, hence why the club have offered him a new four-year contract, but his decline since his peak in 2023/24 is alarming.
Phil Foden's statistics by season
Season | Minutes | Goals | Assistss |
|---|---|---|---|
2025/26 | 2,842 | 10 | 5 |
2024/25 | 2,993 | 13 | 7 |
2023/24 | 4,276 | 27 | 13 |
2022/23 | 2,660 | 15 | 8 |
2021/22 | 3,184 | 14 | 11 |
2020/21 | 3,376 | 16 | 10 |
2019/20 | 1,742 | 8 | 9 |
2018/19 | 1,110 | 7 | 2 |
Note: All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt.
Since scoring a staggering 27 goals, on top of 13 assists, two seasons ago, Foden has come nowhere near replicating those heights again. The fact that he has played around 1,500 fewer minutes during this campaign when compared to back then, due to lack of selection not injury, tells its own story too. Nevertheless, likely to be handed a rare opportunity to start this mid-week, he really needs to grasp it with both hands.
Savinho
This season also has not gone to plan for Savinho, who received miserable news earlier this week. Carlo Ancelotti announced his preliminary 55-man Brazil squad for the World Cup, with the Manchester City man a notable omission. Looking at other wingers, Rayan (Bournemouth), Luiz Henrique (Zenit Saint Petersburg) and Samuel Lino (Flamengo) were among the less heralded names to make the cut, but not Savinho, underling how unimpactful he has been this season.
During his first season in Manchester, having been funnelled through the City Football Group pyramid, he scored three goals and racked up 13 assists in 3,087 minutes of action. This time round, his minutes have plummeted to just 1,288, scoring three times again, but registering just three assists this time. The 22 year old has started only one Premier League game since October, this coming at the Stadium of Light on New Year's Day.
Bizarrely, his sole start since then came at the Bernabéu, hooked at half time with Man City 3-0 down. Even when Guardiola heavily rotated against Southampton at Wembley, he still did not even make the cut, with Foden and Rayan Cherki deployed instead. Nevertheless, Savinho's last hope of a start this season is surely Wednesday's clash with Palace, so can he rediscover the form he showed at Girona?
Omar Marmoush
Lastly, when Omar Marmoush arrived at Manchester City from Eintracht Frankfurt for €70 million in January 2025, this news was supposed to terrify Premier League defences. Despite departing mid-way through the campaign, only five men scored more Bundesliga goals than the Egyptian. However, he has not been able to make quite the same impact in England.
Marmoush did score off the bench against Brentford on Saturday evening, with this just his second league goal of the season, netting seven across all competitions. During his first half-season at the Etihad, he bagged a hat-trick against Newcastle, before scoring an absolute rocket against Bournemouth, awarded Premier League goal of the season, but his talent has merely been shown in glimpses, rather than on a consistent basis.
Of course, being Erling Braut Håland's understudy is not an easy role. Marmoush would ideally like to be the centre-forward, but has been used as both a second striker and out wide, as Guardiola attempts to get both into his lineup. Nevertheless, assuming the Norwegian is given a breather, Marmoush will lead the line in mid-week, looking to score when Palace visit the Etihad, just as he did last time the Eagles did so 13 months ago.
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