City are in Lisbon ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Portuguese champions Sporting CP.
After two wins and a draw, we have seven points from our first three outings in the new look league phase.
Sporting CP v City | Travelling squad
However, we will again be without several key first team stars at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish, Rodrigo and John Stones have not travelled to Portugal, while Kevin De Bruyne is hopeful of making his first appearance since the middle of September.
Although Bernardo accepts City are better when everyone is available, the players will never use that as an excuse to not try to win every game we go in to.
“With a full squad we are stronger, there’s no denying that. We have a lot of unbelievable players missing,” he stated in Monday’s pre-match press conference.
“We have not been able to count on Kevin for six weeks. Rodri is out for the season. And other players out shorter times. But we never find excuses. This club was never about that.
“Kevin was out a few years ago for six months and we won the title. We always manage. Perform well individually, do your work and be there to help the team.”
City go into this game after two successive defeats following a positive start to the season.
We suffered our first loss of the term last Wednesday as Spurs beat us in the Carabao Cup, before a 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
Reflecting on a tough week, Bernardo insists that focus has already shifted on to upcoming challenges – as life at City demands.
“We were in a very good moment, even though we were winning by small margins. But we were being consistent,” he said.
“It’s not easy to play against 11 players in the box and that’s how teams play against us now.
“The last two were different - Tottenham was a different competition and the manager tried some different things, we accept that defeat.
“Bournemouth is much more frustrating for me personally because that is our main competition right now- they were better than us, that is what is frustrating. They were better in all departments. We have to deal with that.
“It’s individual - each of us individually needs to look at ourselves and be ready for the games. We need injured players back because with a full squad we are stronger.
“We need to perform better in every action and be ready for the games.
“And start winning again because this club has set standards that mean we win demand that we again and again and again.”
Sporting CP v City app coverage
Our official app allows you to follow all of the action from Lisbon in one place.
Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, whilst our Matchday Live show, hosted by Natalie Pike, will begin at 18:45 (UK).
City legends Nedum Onuoha and Shaun Wright-Phillips will be the special guests on the latest Matchday Live show, offering their expert insight pre-match, at half-time and in greater detail after the final whistle.
During the game you can listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison, whilst our text commentary continues.
Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.
Highlights from the match, as well as a full-match replay [available on CITY+] will also be available from 23:00 (UK).
