The Portugal midfielder comes into the matchday squad after returning from his summer break on Monday, whilst Gundogan is included in the starting line-up following his second half substitute appearance in the 4-0 win over Barnsley on Saturday.
The German is the only change to the XI that kicked-off against the Tykes, replacing James McAtee in midfield as Pep Guardiola once again goes with an experienced team, supported by Cole Palmer, Ben Knight and Sam Edozie, who has two goals to his name already this pre-season.
Bernardo is the most senior player on a bench including Tommy Doyle and Romeo Lavia, who join up with the first team for the first time this summer.
Former City goalkeeper Daniel Grimshaw has been named as a substitute for the visitors.
TEAMS
CITY XI: Steffen, Cancelo, Dias, Ake, Mendy, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Palmer, Mahrez, Edozie, Knight.
SUBS: Van Sas, Bernardo, Sandler, Roberts, Couto, Moreno, Doyle, Rogers, Gomes, McAtee, Lavia, Burns.
BLACKPOOL XI: Moore, Sinclair, Ekpiteta, Casey, Garbutt, Stewart, James, Bowler, Sarkic, Carey, Lavery.
SUBS: Grimshaw, Connolly, Yates, Anderson, Ward, Hamilton, Antwi, Keogh, John-Jules.
FORMATION
It looks as if Guardiola will continue with the 4-3-3 formation he has utilised in our previous two friendlies.
The back five is unchanged, as Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake and Benjamin Mendy get more minutes under their belt in front of Zack Steffen.
Fernandinho will sit deepest in midfield, with Gundogan and Cole Palmer ahead of him, whilst Riyad Mahrez and Sam Edozie resume their roles out wide.
Ben Knight leads the line up front, once again.
WATCH THE GAME LIVE ON CITY+
CITY+ subscribers can follow every minute of our pre-season clash with Blackpool.
The game will be broadcast exclusively on CITY+ as our preparations continue against a side who returned to the Championship via the League One play-offs in 2020-21.
It costs just £1.99 per month to subscribe, which provides full-match replays of all Men’s and Women’s clashes, as well as selected live broadcasts of Women’s, Elite Development Squad and Under-18s matches.
However, CITY+ isn’t just restricted to providing a matchday experience, with a subscription also granting access to exclusive, original documentaries, including Together, the upcoming release which tells the story of the final 46 days of the 2020-21 campaign.
For further details about how to subscribe visit, HERE.
