Phil Foden is in contention to start for Manchester City when they face Premier League title rivals Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The 21-year-old, who has predominantly operated as the focal point in Pep Guardiola's attack this season, has been a standout performer for the Citizens, scoring 11 goals and registering nine assists in 35 appearances across all competitions.
His latest goal contribution came in the first leg of City's Champions League quarter-final tie with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, in which he came off the bench to provide the assist for Kevin De Bruyne's match-winning strike that sealed a 1-0 win for the hosts.
Foden has also enjoyed playing against Liverpool in recent years, and the England international will be keen to add to his tally this weekend as the current top-flight leaders bid to put themselves in the driving seat for the 2021-22 title.
Ahead of Sunday's eagerly-anticipated contest, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Foden's record against Liverpool.
© Reuters
Since making his Man City debut in 2017, Foden has played only four times against Liverpool, featuring three times in the Premier League and once in the 2019-20 Community Shield.
Foden only made a fleeting appearance in the latter competition – his very first against the Reds – coming on in the 89th minute to replace Kevin De Bruyne with the score at 1-1, but the Englishman contributed to City's success on penalties, as he stepped up and scored their third spot kick to help Guardiola's men win 6-5 in the Wembley shootout.
The Stockport-born attacker has been benched by Guardiola five times in all competitions in games against Liverpool, and he has missed three games due to injury, but when he has been selected to play he has certainly made his mark.
Foden's first Premier League meeting with Liverpool was in March 2020 at the Etihad. After setting up former Reds winger Raheem Sterling, the youngster got his name on the scoresheet to help the Citizens cruise to a 4-0 victory. Jurgen Klopp's side, however, went on to win their first top-flight title in 30 years that season.
© Reuters
Foden's next two encounters with Liverpool were at Anfield, including the memorable 4-1 triumph for Guardiola's side in July last year.
Operating as a false nine, the versatile attacker produced a man-of-the-match display, once again assisting Sterling who put City 3-1 ahead, before rifling a sweet left-footed strike past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker to cap a brilliant performance and victory for the visitors, albeit in front of an empty Anfield stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Foden's most recent clash against Liverpool was in October earlier this season, which saw an enthralling 2-2 draw played out at Anfield. After Sadio Mane opened the scoring, City's academy graduate restored parity for the visitors with a low-driven strike from a tight angle into the bottom-right corner of Alisson's net. Mohamed Salah then put Liverpool back in front before De Bruyne's 81st-minute equaliser forced both sides to share the spoils.
Foden heads into this weekend's fixture after scoring in each of his last three Premier League appearances against Liverpool, and he could become just the second player to score in four successive league games against the Reds after Leicester City's Jamie Vardy, who scored five in a row between 2016 and 2017.
Oliver Thomas
