City have dominated their opening two Premier League games but have only three goals to show from 33 efforts against Brighton and Everton.
They needed Sterling to come on from the bench to save a point against Ronald Koeman’s side on Monday after a host of chances had been squandered, with Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero among those guilty.
Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that his forwards are short on confidence – and admits he is worried. He said: “I’m concerned. We have guys who can score goals. I never will doubt Sergio and Gabriel. Even Kevin [de Bruyne] is a guy who scored 12 to 15 goals last season and made 21, I think.
“We played with 10 men against 11 for more than 50 minutes when we faced Everton and you saw how many chances were created.
“We had chances against one of the best defensive teams in the Premier League. We created enough to win the game, even with 10 men, but we weren’t able to score.
“It’s a little bit like last season. We are going to try to find the chance to be confident and one day it is going to click and we are going to score goals.”
Sterling missed a good chance of his own before finding the net against Everton on Monday but the Manchester City boss is backing him to flourish in a No10 role, behind Aguero or Jesus.
The England international played more often as a winger for Guardiola last season but scored three times in pre-season after being switched into the middle.
“In our pre-season game against Real Madrid, in the second half, he played more as a No10, behind the striker,” said Guardiola. “He is so dangerous in that position.
“I like him to sit there closer to the middle, because he commits the central defenders, he is so aggressive in the small spaces.
“In the last four or five games, including pre-season, he scored nearly a goal per game. I hope the goal he scored in the last game can help his confidence. Because with a goal, he is confident. He can say, ‘I’m going to score a goal. I hope the guys who score goals can get that’.”
Bournemouth striker Jermain Defoe played 90 minutes in midweek and is in contention to make his first start of the league season after being named in the England squad.
“It’s great to see from our perspective as we’ve not seen that too many times,” said Bournemouth manager Howe. “I’m delighted for Jermain. I know the World Cup is at the forefront of his mind.”