Pep Guardiola is perhaps the most difficult Premier League manager to anticipate when it comes to team selections. Not only is he one of the greatest tactical innovators in the history of football, deploying false nines and inverted full-backs without forewarning, but he also favours rotation over consistency with his starting XIs.
'Pep Roulette' is a massive frustration for Fantasy Premier League managers who spend big on an in-form player, only for him to suddenly receive a demotion to the bench and pick up a solitary appearance point for a ten-minute runout.
FPL players, Manchester City fans and even supporters of Premier League title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool may be wondering if Phil Foden will feature in Sunday's 2pm kickoff with Aston Villa. The England international has enjoyed a resurgence in form this season but remained an unused substitute in City's 2-0 win over Villarreal in midweek, as Guardiola preferred Rico Lewis and Bernardo Silva in central midfield.
Foden's Fitness this Season
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Foden has endured a difficult few seasons due to injury problems. He had a string of issues across 2024/25 and ended up making just 20 Premier League starts. He has missed two games already this term with an ankle injury, although his last absence as a consequence of that was back in September.
There is no suggestion Foden has any fitness problems. He played the full ninety minutes in City's last two Premier League games, wins over Brentford and Everton. Guardiola didn't mention anything relating to Foden's health during his pre-match press conference for the trip to Villa Park. However, City are believed to have three injuries at this time in Rodri, Nico Gonzalez and Abdukodir Khusanov.
Pep Roulette and UCL League Phase
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More than most managers, it has become a common tactic for Guardiola to rest key players when City have midweek games. Who starts and who doesn't is more an indication of how challenging he perceives the opposition to be or which competition he is prioritising.
Villarreal aren't to be underestimated; they are third in La Liga this season. However, resting Foden suggests Pep views Villa Park as a more daunting game that his side need to pick up a result in. Having already lost twice in the Premier League, City need to keep points ticking over to maintain pressure on title favourites Arsenal.
In contrast, it's more difficult to get eliminated from the Champions League league phase than progress to the next round, with only eight of 36 teams being eliminated from the competition. City had already taken four points from two games before facing Villarreal - last season, teams needed only eleven to make the Playoff for the Round of 16.
Foden vs Aston Villa and England Hopes
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Most Predicted XIs, including GIVEMESPORT's feature Foden in the side. There's no indication that being left on the bench in midweek was anything other than resource management from Guardiola. On the whole, the England international's form has shown marked improvement from last season, impressing in an advanced central midfield role and helping to fill the void left by Kevin De Bruyne.
Thomas Tuchel left Foden out of his most recent Three Lions squad but a strong performance against one of his positional rivals in Villa's Morgan Rodgers could put his England career back on track ahead of November's international break. At present, Foden is being tipped to miss the cut for England's 2026 World Cup squad.
For Sunday afternoon though, all signs point to Foden returning to City's starting XI.