Analysis: Revived Foden and De Bruyne offer most threat to Chelsea

Football writer Adrian Clarke identifies the key players, team tactics and where matches could be won and lost in Matchweek 23.

Team analysis: Manchester City

Man City’s confidence might have taken a hit following their chastening midweek UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, but two of Pep Guardiola’s stalwarts will feel they are still playing well enough to hurt top four rivals Chelsea.

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Having wrestled with nagging injury and illness issues during the early part of 2024/25, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne have been back to their rampant best in recent weeks

Delivering 10 direct goal involvements between them across the last three Premier League matches (five goals, five assists) it is clear the duo are ready to make a big impression against the Blues.

Why has Foden refound touch in front of goal?

After 16 rounds of matches, last season’s EA SPORTS Footballer of the Year had taken more shots than anybody else without scoring.

Missing the target with 21 of his 24 attempts at that stage, Foden finally got off the mark in a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa, slamming home his 30th shot of the campaign.

Since the turn of the year, Foden’s output has been back to the kind of levels we have grown to expect.

It has exceeded them in fact, with no Premier League player scoring as many goals as him so far in 2025.

Netting five times in his last three appearances, the England international is on a serious hot streak ahead of Saturday's key match against Chelsea.

Foden's attempts on goal have averaged one every 27 minutes since 21 December compared to one every 30 minutes before that, so he has not raised the frequency of his attempts by very much at all.

Yet, as shown in the table below, the quality of Foden’s chances have been markedly better.

Foden's attacking improvement 24/25

Crashing the box

Earlier this season Foden was taking too many hopeful attempts from outside the penalty area.

The City midfielder’s goal threat was way below par as he was rarely making those well-timed runs into the box that had been so successful for him previously.

He barely tested opposition goalkeepers and was sometimes guilty of rushing his efforts, too.

Since bundling the ball home at Villa Park just before Christmas, Foden’s attitude has changed.

Buoyed by that strike he is now making a stream of runs into Positions of Maximum Opportunity (POMO), which effectively means inside a 12-yard square between the width of the goal.

When you compare Foden’s shot map from the last six Premier League matches with his 11 previous appearances, you can clearly see how his mindset and positioning has changed.

All six goals have come from close range, inside the middle of the opposition penalty area.

In his first 11 outings of the campaign, Foden only managed one shot from that domain.

Is Foden better drifting in off the right?

When assessing Foden’s return to form two factors worth considering are firstly, that he is now starting matches regularly, and also that he is finally clear of injury.

It was very much a stop-start beginning to the season for Foden.

Yet his positioning may also be a factor.

In those early weeks Guardiola moved him around a lot and Foden was asked to play in several differing roles.

He featured heavily on the left, as the right-sided No 8, or as a central No 10 behind Erling Haaland. He was also a regular substitute.

These are all positions he can shine from, but Foden’s form was indifferent.

Slotting into 4-2-3-1 formation

Since that goalscoring display at Villa, none of Foden’s minutes have come from the bench in Premier League action.

Guardiola has also decided to use him primarily as a right-sided forward or midfielder, usually in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Foden has rediscovered his scoring form, perhaps because he is harder to mark when making angled runs into the centre of the box from a right-wing berth.

This map which outlines how long he has spent in different positions across the last six matches shows he is more settled and arguably at his most dangerous coming in from the right.

De Bruyne’s return a major plus

With four assists in his last three Premier League appearances, De Bruyne’s brilliant end product has also boosted Man City.

Three of those goals were laid on for Foden, who shares a fine understanding with the Belgian playmaker.

In Premier League action, the duo had played less than 90 minutes together this season until the Manchester derby on 15 December.

That was bound to have impacted City’s fortunes in a negative sense.

Now reunited on a regular basis, De Bruyne’s sensational right-wing cross for Foden to cushion a volley into the net in a 2-2 draw at Brentford was a reminder of the special chemistry they share.

De Bruyne's sublime cross for Foden v Brentford

The other two assists came from play down the left, with De Bruyne slipping a perfectly timed pass into Foden from a turnover to score against West Ham United.

Last time out he stormed down the same flank before cutting a pass back for City’s No 47 to convert from close range.

Having a player of De Bruyne’s calibre getting into those areas will incentivise Foden, and others, to work as hard as they can to run into goalscoring positions.

Reliable with his final pass, he is a star turn whom his team-mates trust implicitly.

The fit-again De Bruyne has created 21 chances in his last seven starts, including eight against Brentford, his best return in a Premier League away match.

Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo could be the man charged with the task of keeping De Bruyne quiet in Saturday evening’s encounter at the Etihad Stadium.

If as expected Foden starts on the right, Marc Cucurella will be his direct opponent.

Both visiting players will have to perform at their best to tame these two extraordinary talents, who are coming into form during a period when Guardiola’s side traditionally find their groove.