Foden harm replace from Guardiola as Man City face Inter Milan then Arsenal

On Sep 16, 2024

Pep Guardiola is expected to unleash Phil Foden on Inter Milan when Manchester City kick-off their Champions League campaign – before the huge clash against Arsenal this weekend.

Foden has been sidelined since the first game of the season following illness. The attacking midfielder was also forced to pull out of the England squad for their Nations League games against Republic of Ireland and Finland.

But he is expected to be called upon at some stage, when Simone Inzaghi’s side visit the Etihad in their opening game of the new look format. The Italian giants are expected to provide one of City’s toughest tests, having lost to Guardiola’s men in the 2023 final in Istanbul.

And Guardiola is keen for Foden to be involved in the game at some stage. Foden returned to the City squad for last weekend’s home win over Brentford, but wasn’t used from the bench due to his lack of training sessions.

But Foden returned to training towards the end of last week, and by the time Inter come to town, will be available to Guardiola once again. Guardiola admits he is desperate to have Foden back.

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Phil Foden has been waiting in the wings for Manchester City so far this season

He said: “I am delighted he is back, so I need him, we need him desperately. This player is so important for us.”

City will host Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon (September 22), in a battle between first and second in the table and the two teams expected to fight for the title.

Earlier this year Arsenal shut out City in cagey goalless draw in the same fixture, but was accused of being overly negative in a performance that ultimately proved costly as they missed out on the title to Guardiola’s side by just two points.