What's next for Foden, Nico, Marmoush and the other Manchester City players who can't get into the first XI

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And with City out of the Champions League, meaning they have more time to recover during the week, Guardiola does not really need to rest those who have created that good vibe. This means that several players are having to watch from the sidelines at the moment, with some of those facing uncertain City futures. Here, The Athletic takes a look at some of those who have been waiting for opportunities to play more minutes — and it is also worth bearing in mind that the situation could easily change for all of these players if Guardiola himself were to leave in the summer. Foden looked back to his best towards the end of 2025, but has barely featured since the turn of the year. The fundamental thing to know about most of the players who featured at Wembley on Saturday is that Guardiola has hit upon a line-up he has the ultimate confidence in, and at this time of the season, with every result having a huge effect on the number of trophies City can win over its final weeks, he is not going to make many changes from it. Foden, like many others in the squad, is unlikely to get many more starts over the campaign’s six remaining games (five in the league, plus the FA Cup final against Chelsea) but the difference with the soon-to-be 26-year-old City academy graduate is that most of his colleagues in that same situation are still fairly new to the club. England head coach Thomas Tuchel spoke recently about how Foden had looked bright in training during international breaks but could not replicate that on the pitch, and it is evident he is struggling to make an impact for City, too. He was the first City player to be substituted on Saturday, and the quiet nature of his performance was alarming, even if being part of a much-changed team does offer some mitigation. Foden’s case is particularly interesting because he is such a local hero and also because his contract expires in two years. The presumption is that he will sign an extension, but it is certainly a situation to keep an eye on because these past two seasons have been very difficult for him. Played a starring role on Saturday with his stunning late winner and man-of-the-match display, which might perversely make his current situation even more frustrating. Having been signed from Portuguese side Porto at the end of last year’s winter transfer window, Nico, as he likes to be known, made a good impression at City early on, earning himself the moniker ‘mini Rodri’ from Guardiola after one fine showing, but then dropped out of the team as the old guard of Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Kevin De Bruyne helped rescue the club’s 2024-25 season. He found opportunities hard to come by earlier this season too, but eventually earned a regular place in the side and began to impress again, becoming an important figure as City won eight games in a row leading up to Christmas. But he got injured at Sunderland on New Year’s Day, Rodri came back in, and since then Nico has hardly had a kick, certainly in the league. Guardiola has said the reason for that is that Rodri and Bernardo have been so good in recent months, and that bit is certainly true, but on Wednesday in Burnley, with Rodri out injured, Guardiola chose to play youngster Nico O’Reilly in midfield instead. That felt like a telling decision regarding Nico’s standing in the manager’s thoughts. It could be that the 24-year-old Spaniard gets a chance after Bernardo leaves the club this summer, that he plays more under any new manager, or that he himself moves on, as several clubs are monitoring his situation. Marmoush is similar to Nico Gonzalez in that Erling Haaland is the barrier to his first-team chances up front in the way Rodri is for Nico in midfield. Guardiola sees Marmoush as a striker, or at least a central threat, which obviously means that he does not have opportunities on the wing, and that he generally has to wait for Haaland not to play to get into the team. The 27-year-old Egypt international has generally done well in Haaland’s absence, and he chipped in with some important goals last season after joining from Eintracht Frankfurt in the January, but it looks like he suffers from a lack of rhythm when he is asked to come in and make a contribution after a stretch of games without playing. That was certainly the case on Saturday, where he missed a hatful of good chances and frustrated by being caught offside at key moments. It may be that he wants to play more regularly elsewhere, and again there are likely to be suitors. Reijnders went straight into the first XI at the Club World Cup last summer after being signed from Milan and stayed there for months into the Premier League season, but he has found minutes harder to come by of late. The 27-year-old Dutchman stood out in Serie A and for his country by getting on the ball in deep areas and dictating games with his passes and runs, but City believe they have other players who can do that — certainly at the moment with Rodri and Bernardo — and instead Guardiola uses Reijnders in an advanced position, believing he can score goals when playing off Haaland. That does mean he cannot get on the ball as much as he normally would and, for a player who never really stood out for his defensive ability, that matches can pass him by. It is easy to imagine Reijnders looking better overall in his second season in English football and into the future, and he may be used in a deeper role once Bernardo leaves. Even if this first year at City has not gone the way we may have expected after his wonderful one-goal-one-assist Premier League debut at Wolves on the opening weekend in August, it would feel unusual if he were to leave now. Guardiola loves Lewis as a player for many reasons, but perhaps chief among them is his ability to find spaces in between the lines in the ‘pockets’. In that sense, he suits the City manager’s game to a tee, and it is no surprise he has played over 100 times for the first team though he is still 21. The problem now seems to be that the Premier League has changed so much so quickly and those pockets are far harder to come by, as a result of teams combining high-pressing man-marking with sitting very deep. That also means bigger, stronger, physical players have become more important. Guardiola has always referenced Lewis’ relatively short height (5ft 7in/170cm) even at the best of times, and now that his ability to find space is less useful than it was, it feels like he does not fit. One start league start since August helps paint that picture and although he signed a new contract last summer, Lewis might be better off looking for opportunities elsewhere, especially after he did not get on the pitch at all on Saturday despite all the changes to the City team. Came back into the team against Burnley in midweek after a while on the sidelines, which may have caused him some frustration. The first half of his season, following a move from Wolves, was derailed by injury. Then he went to the Africa Cup of Nations with Algeria, and in recent months he has been a victim of former midfielder O’Reilly’s success as a left-back. Ait-Nouri clearly offers a lot, especially in attacking areas, but Guardiola’s first XI is settled now and he would be relying on injuries to get back into it before the end of his debut season. The 24-year-old could be upset by his lack of opportunities but may thrive in year two at the Etihad Stadium, like many others before him. The 22-year-old Brazilian may be feeling slightly aggrieved that, for all the changes Guardiola made on Saturday, he was still not in the starting line-up. Tottenham tried to sign him last summer, only for City CEO Ferran Soriano to put his foot down, and similarly to Ait-Nouri, while Savinho has been out with injuries, other players climbed up Guardiola’s pecking order. It would be interesting to see City’s stance if another big offer were to arrive 12 months on, because it could be a good time to cash in, but they must also be curious about how far Savinho’s raw abilities could take him if he can ever get a consistent run in the side. The 31-year-old England international defender is leaving City after a decade’s service when his contract expires in the summer. Ake is also expected to move on this summer after six seasons with the club, although his deal still has a year left to run. The 31-year-old Dutchman had attracted interest in this season’s winter window and was said to have been open to a move, but City’s defensive injury crisis at the time put a stop to that. “Nathan played outstanding in the Carabao Cup final (on March 22). Since then, he’s played five minutes. It cannot be more unfair,” Guardiola said on Friday, summing up the situation for him and a few others. (Though Ake then did the full 90 against Southampton.) “But, they have to compete. Both (first-choice) central defenders are exceptional. Khusa (Abdukodir Khusanov, signed in January last year) is pfft… What can I say? Marc (Guehi, signed this January) the same.” Having missed most of the past 12 months thanks to two surgeries on his ankle, Kovacic started against Southampton and did well before being taken off around the hour mark. Turning 32 in early May, he has a year left on his contract and is seen as a valuable member of the first team when fit, but could attract summer suitors — especially if he has a good World Cup with Croatia. Kovacic has a lot of rust to shake off but will have certainly had plenty of rest compared to most other players involved in the tournament. Has been open about how difficult he has found this season, after seeing Gianluigi Donnarumma sign for City shortly after he did last summer — something he says he had no idea about when making the move back to his boyhood club after two seasons with Burnley. Trafford was expecting to succeed the departed Ederson as Guardiola’s No 1 before the Italy international showed up, and dropping down the pecking order could also have cost him any chance of starting for England at the looming World Cup. City would like the 23-year-old to stay but he has endless suitors for a potential summer move. Spot the pattern. 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