"We put six or seven players with fresh legs. That is going to happen in the future. When you have a lot of games, everyone has to play."

That was the message from Pep Guardiola after City were on the wrong end of the biggest shock of the Premier League season so far at the Etihad on Saturday.

Crystal Palace's 3-2 win was a bolt from the blue that nobody saw coming and it has temporarily rocked City. A one point margin to make up on Liverpool was nothing to worry about, especially with the Merseysiders at the Etihad on Thursday, January 3, but the four point gap at Christmas is more of a concern.

There are still two fixtures to be played before Liverpool come to town and the picture might have changed by the first action of 2019, but Guardiola has to make sure City come through two testing but winnable away games unscathed first.

And that might mean a brief change of approach from the City boss. Defeat to the Eagles has removed City's margin of error and it might mean rotation plans have to go out of the window at the King Power Stadium and St Mary's.

Guardiola has made plenty of changes to his side during December and his determination to try and keep everyone fresh with the Blues still competing on four fronts is understandable.

But games against Leicester and Southampton this week look tricky on paper, given the Foxes' win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and the Saints' revival under new boss Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Now is not the time for rest and recuperation. Instead Guardiola should field his strongest possible XI in the next three games. The fixture list helps in that regard. After the visit of Liverpool City face Rotherham at home in the FA Cup third round and Burton Albion at home in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. Those two games will allow Guardiola to rest his senior men, who may be in need of a break after a hectic Christmas.

The time has surely come for Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero to be restored to the starting line-up and their relative freshness after injury lay-offs may help at this time of year. David Silva is back in training as well and will hopefully be fit enough to start at least two of City's next three games.

The experiment of John Stones in midfield didn't work against Palace and it would be even more a risk against Leicester, a rejuvenated Southampton and Liverpool.

Guardiola will be desperately hoping that Fernandinho is fit to resume midfield duties on Boxing Day. It might be a heavy workload for the 33-year-old but he is still one of the most important components of this City side.

The temptation will be there for Guardiola to try and give some of his key men a rest over the next 10 days, but reality dictates that this is a key stretch of the season for City. It's time to get the big guns out.