'Phil Foden is going to be back': Pep Guardiola backs misfiring Man City star ahead of Champions League clash

Manchester City will look to put behind recent disappointment as they take on Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday (Oct 2). While all eyes will be on Man City’s performance, star player Phil Foden will look to break his duck for this season so far. Foden is yet to score this season while Man City have won only one of their last four matches, raising question marks on the 2023 European champion’s performance.

Pep backs Foden

"Maybe I can have some doubts about many things, but Phil Foden is going to be back! As much as he feels good, he will be back," Guardiola told reporters.

"I think in 30 minutes at St James' Park [in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle on Saturday], I felt already something that I like that I didn't see for example, against Watford."

City drew blank in their opening Champions League match of the season after a stalemate against Italian side Inter Milan. They needed a stoppage time equaliser against Arsenal to rescue a point, while another draw against Newcastle United in the Premier League has seen them surrender the top spot.

On the other hand, Foden has not reached the standards of last season, having failed to impress. He has started the recent four of the five matches on the bench and is yet to fire on all cylinders for the Blue side of Manchester.

Tuesday’s encounter will be the perfect stage for Foden to make his mark with Slovan Bratislava being humiliated 5-1 by Scottish champions Celtic on matchday 1.

Pep and Co have an easy next few games as they will face the likes of Fulham, Wolves, Sparta Praha and struggling Southampton in the coming weeks. City’s next big test will be the League Cup contest against Spurs at the end of the month.