Bernardo Silva admission may force immediate Pep Guardiola change at Man City

Pep Guardiola has a lot of trust in his most experienced Manchester City stars - as you would given they have won six Premier League titles in seven years.

For the moment though, they are struggling. Kyle Walker and Kevin De Bruyne have not been fit enough to show any kind of form, while Ilkay Gundogan appears to have been hindered in finding his rhythm by starting more games than anybody expected after a lack of pre-season.

The longer those problems have persisted to worsen a lengthy injury list, the more energy has been sapped from those who have been left to play every three days. While the manager disputed it, it was understandable that Bernardo Silva spoke about the team being in a dark place after their Sporting humbling and in a later interview he spoke about thinking beyond the Brighton game on Saturday.

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"One more game before the international break, which will definitely be good for us because at the moment with the injuries that we have, and with the psychological part as well, it will be good to have that rest," he said. "But before that we have a big game again, a very tough game. Brighton away is never easy."

It is completely understandable - who wouldn't want to break the gloom of three defeats and have some time to rest - yet it also goes against everything that Guardiola needs the squad to be. Anyone who can't give their full attention to the game immediately in front of them doesn't start unless it is an emergency.

City are arguably at that point, but at the same time they do have options to come in. However much Guardiola doesn't like giving minutes to youngsters as 'presents', there has been little shown in midfield in recent weeks to warrant the continued benchings of James McAtee and Nico O'Reilly.

McAtee may still be learning his best position in this team yet he is not going to find it by playing a handful of league minutes all season and he does have experience of promotion with Sheffield United and then a relegation battle. O'Reilly and Jacob Wright are greener, although they have been marked out as first-team players this season.

Sooner or later the City first team will click back into gear and normality will be resumed, but there are few signs of a deflated group being lifted in time for their tricky game at Brighton on Saturday. In these circumstances, a surprise selection - especially if it is a youngster who will be fresh and hungry to impress - could be exactly what Guardiola needs to stop the bleeding and get City back on track before his squad can try and have some rest in the fortnight that follows.