Foden fired up for Manchester derby, says Maresca

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Phil Foden sees the Manchester derby differently to his Manchester City team-mates, according to Enzo Maresca.

Foden, Man City’s star academy graduate, has played 17 times against Manchester United.

He has netted seven goals and provided one assist against the Red Devils. Only against Bournemouth and Brighton (both nine) has Foden recorded more goal involvements.

And Maresca feels Foden will see Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford as extra special compared to some of his team-mates, given his local roots.

“Probably, yes. He is from the house, the academy,” Maresca said when asked if Foden puts more importance on the derby.

“The feeling for him is different to the rest of the players. It’s normal. For him, it’s a different game.”

Enzo (On preparing to face United) I think the most important thing for the players is to be focused on the game. [It was] something similar with Porto, a complicated stadium. The environment is fantastic.

I know that it’s different at Old Trafford. The main focus for the… pic.twitter.com/W1ISwnNwBF

— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 11, 2026

While Foden is now a Manchester derby veteran, Elliot Anderson will be experiencing the fixture for the first time.

Anderson may well have ended up at United this past summer, but it was City who struck a £116m deal to sign the midfielder from Nottingham Forest.

The England international has had a strong start to life at City. He has completed more passes while under high pressure than any other player in the Premier League this season (122), while United’s Youri Tielemans ranks second in this regard (114).

Anderson labelled City as “the Kings of Manchester” upon signing for the club and Maresca believes, given the club’s success over the past 15 years, that is natural for a player of Anderson’s age.

“The reason why Elliot said that is because he grew up when Man City were unbelievable. It’s normal for him to say that.

“When you go back further it’s a different picture, but for me that is why he said that.”

However, City have won just one of their last four Premier League games against United (D1 L2), after winning five of their six beforehand (L1).

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