After winning last season’s prestigious Premier League Player of the Season award, becoming the fifth Manchester City player to do so in as many years, fans were eager to see a continuation of the scintillating performances of the midfield maestro last season.
However, the ‘Stockport Messi’ is yet to hit the ground running in the 2024/25 campaign. Having started only one match, playing just 166 minutes out of a possible 630, it’s fair to say that Foden hasn’t had an opportunity to showcase his creativity and attacking flair so far this season.
Now seemingly back to full fitness, Head Coach Pep Guardiola will be hopeful that the young midfielder can hit a purple patch as the Sky Blues enter a kind run of fixtures that could play a pivotal in deciding the outcome of the Premier League title race.
In their next four fixtures, City’s opponents include rock-bottom Wolves, newly-promoted Southampton, who currently find themselves in 19th, a Bournemouth side who found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline against Leicester last time out, and Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton, who conceded four goals to ex-City midfielder Cole Palmer in Chelsea’s 4-2 win against them earlier this season.
With City missing key players like Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, with the latter out for the remainder of the season, it seems that Foden must seize the reigns and relieve some of the weight from the league’s top goalscorer Erling Haaland.
Opponents Wolves and Southampton are two of only four teams yet to win a Premier League game this season. Southampton have conceded a disappointing 13 goals, while Wolves have conceded an eye-watering twenty-one goals, the highest number of any team in the league.
With twenty-six goal involvements last season, Foden will be eager to open his account for the season against Wolves on Sunday, 20th October. When the sides last faced each other in May, City thrashed Wolves 5-1. Unsurprisingly, Norwegian Erling Haaland bagged himself four goals, one of which was assisted by Foden. The pair hopes to rekindle their deadly partnership from last season in the upcoming fixture.
On the flip side, title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool are both on the verge of a tough run of fixtures. After a trip to Bournemouth this coming weekend, The Gunners face Liverpool at the Emirates. Following that, they face back-to-back away matches against strong Newcastle and Chelsea sides. After picking up a knock in England’s 2-1 defeat against Greece, it remains unclear whether Saka will be available for Arsenal’s next match. With Martin Odegaard still sidelined, Mikel Arteta’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s match will be eagerly anticipated by Arsenal fans, who will be praying for a positive update on the Saka injury front.
Elsewhere, Arne Slot’s table-topping Liverpool side faces Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton and Aston Villa in their next four. Having only conceded two goals this season, four less than Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, who have both conceded six, Slot will be confident that his team can continue their impressive run of form. Nevertheless, their back line will be weakened after goalkeeper Alisson sustained an injury in their 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Foden’s return to fitness has come at a crucial time with all three title-chasing teams seemingly plagued by injuries to key players. If he finds his form from last season, he could help Manchester City climb back to the top.
