Pep Guardiola might have let slip his first-choice Man City attack with Phil Foden admission

When Phil Foden was replaced on the hour mark at Old Trafford just over a month ago, he will have hoped his fourth start in a row would kick-start his season after the World Cup.

Foden had only been given one Manchester City start in four after the World Cup, in his favoured left-wing position, and followed that up with a goal against Chelsea in the FA Cup from a more central midfield role - one he reprised at Southampton a few days before the derby.

However, a sore foot picked up in a challenge with Aaron Wan-Bissaka kept Foden out for four games, and he would be on the bench for a further two. His return to the starting XI at Nottingham Forest this weekend was welcomed - but it wasn't in the position he may have hoped. And Pep Guardiola's post-match comments appear to have given him a new challenge.

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It's understandable that Foden needed more recovery time after the World Cup, and that can't be held against him. He's also unfortunate that Riyad Mahrez restarted the domestic season in good form after Algeria failed to qualify for Qatar, and Jack Grealish has started to add the goals and assists that his performances deserve.

That derby injury couldn't have come at a worse time, and allowed Grealish a free run to start seven games in a row after his Old Trafford goal off the bench. Before that, Grealish had just two starts in seven as Guardiola tried to accommodate Foden's post-World Cup recovery.

Now, Grealish has made the left-wing spot his own, and the only way Foden was returning to the team this weekend was in place of Mahrez, who wasn't at his best at Arsenal in the previous game.

Foden did well in attack at the City Ground