Omar Marmoush has Newcastle's number - but Egyptian needs to consistently ease the goal-scoring burden on Erling Haaland at Man City

Marmoush was an obvious choice to boost City's flailing attack amid their terrible run of results in the first part of last season, having scored 19 goals and provided 11 assists for Eintracht Frankfurt. He was thrown straight into City's line-up, too, starting 14 of their 16 remaining league games of the season while appearing in four of their five FA Cup matches, including starts in the semi-final and final. 

For the most part, he shared the attack with Haaland, apart from during the Norwegian's five-week absence with an ankle injury, and in addition to his treble against Newcastle, Marmoush hit the net against Brighton, Leicester City, Crystal Palace and twice against Bournemouth, scoring the winner in the FA Cup quarter-final tie with the Cherries before later landing an outrageous rocket in May which was named Premier League Goal of the Season. 

The only negative note came when Marmoush was denied from the penalty spot by Dean Henderson in the FA Cup final defeat to Crystal Palace, though Haaland earned more criticism for shirking responsibility at Wembley.

"Last season when he arrived he was unbelievable for two or three months," Guardiola said of Marmoush's impact when speaking in January. "Without him, it would have been impossible to achieve qualification for the Champions League or reach the FA Cup final. He is a special player, not old, not young, but has margin to improve and a sense of goal [with] dynamic energy in his runs, which is really good."

Guardiola, not for the first time, was being brutally honest with his assessment, and it is fair to say that Marmoush has struggled to live up to his thrilling start to life in England. He has scored only one Premier League goal this season, against Wolves, with his other three strikes coming in the Carabao Cup. 

What should be more concerning for the forward is that he has been called upon so rarely. Marmoush went more than four months without starting a league game, only getting his chance when Guardiola would make sweeping changes to his line-up while otherwise having to make do with a smattering of minutes from the bench. 

While last season the coach saw no problem with playing Marmoush alongside Haaland, for much of this campaign it seemed as if he would pick one or the other. And with the Norwegian scoring 25 goals between August and December, there was really only going to be one winner in that battle.

But while Marmoush was at the AFCON, Haaland became worn out by being City's only available striker, going nine matches without scoring from open play. The team's form dipped too as they failed to win any of their first four league games of 2026. 

Marmoush has subsequently grown in importance since returning from international duty, playing in all eight of City's matches across all competitions, including making five starts. He was surprisingly named in the starting line-up at Liverpool alongside Haaland, and started with him against Galatasaray too, although he did not cover himself in glory in either game and was taken off each time.

His best displays in this run have come when playing up front alone, against Wolves and Newcastle.

It was telling that when Guardiola praised Marmoush after the Wolves game, he emphasised that he saw the Egyptian as "more of a striker than a proper winger". Marmoush has, however, tended to operate on the left of City's 4-1-4-1 shape when playing with Haaland, while only leading the line when the Norwegian has been left out. 

His hopes of locking down a role out wide have been rocked by Semenyo, who has started the last five games in the Premier League and been in terrific form, posting five goals and two assists in his nine appearances thus far. The Ghana forward can play on the left and right, while he also played in a front two with Haaland against Fulham.

It says a lot of the ruthlessness at City that Marmoush has been usurped by another new arrival just one year after joining, while the imminent returns from injury of Savinho and Jeremy Doku are set to create more competition in forward areas. That is great news for City as they compete to win four trophies over the next three-and-a-half months, but it begs the question whether Marmoush can step up or if he will be left back on the bench, which in turn could lead to him following Julian Alvarez's lead in being a Haaland back-up who wants to leave.

It will come down to whether Marmoush's main ambition is to be part of an ultra-competitive team that fights for every title or whether he wants to make a name for himself. Given City's embarrassment of attacking riches, his work is cut out if he wants to achieve the latter, but claiming silverware could yet appease him.

"I cannot deny I want to win trophies," he said upon arriving at the Etihad. "City have been the most successful club in England for many, many years, so I know I am joining a winning environment and winning culture. I want to learn from the staff and my team-mates, and I want to become a valued member of this winning team."

Marmoush had the misfortune to join City during only one of two trophy-less seasons under Guardiola, but there is a renewed hunger around the squad and a clear belief that they can continue to chase down Arsenal in the title race. And Newcastle, City's next obstacle on that journey, just happen to be Marmoush's favourite opponent.