Manchester City are running on fumes.

Seven players didn't travel to Crystal Palace, two more weren't fit enough to start, and Pep Guardiola would have rested most of the starting XI if he had the chance.

The look on the faces of the squad as they stepped off the coach at a freezing, storm-hit Selhurst Park told the full story. Jack Grealish grimaced and asked a member of staff what the name of the storm was. City were still trying to acclimatise when Daniel Munoz sped past a static defence and fired Palace ahead.

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The four defenders on show were the only four Guardiola had available. Rico Lewis, therefore, was at left-back with Kyle Walker right and Josko Gvardiol shifted into the middle. Manu Akanji added to the injury list pre-match and Nathan Ake has joined John Stones on the sidelines.

Lewis could have been on the right with Walker in the middle, but Guardiola persisted despite Lewis being flat-footed for the opener and Walker playing Munoz onside. Ruben Dias had to dig a number of teammates out of trouble from misplaced passes with a series of brilliant blocks.

The game ended with Lewis joining the list of defensive absentees, picking up a first career red card for too many fouls after getting his third Premier League goal a few minutes earlier - all have now come against Palace.

It was an afternoon that summed up Lewis' recent form - overworked by necessity, perhaps too enthusiastic, mistakes going hand-in-hand with his obvious brilliance.

Now he's left City in a rut for the Manchester derby next weekend. As it stands, only Walker, Dias and Gvardiol are available to take on Manchester United. The defensive options on the bench were academy players Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Jahmai Simpson-Pusey.

It's anyone's guess who's on the team sheet at the Etihad next week. Guardiola bemoaned Lewis' absence as one of his most important players this season.

When Lewis was dismissed, he protested but eventually accepted his fate and jogged off, sporting a smirk while he was serenaded off by the gleeful home fans.

Guardiola was furious at full-time, perhaps at the red card decision or maybe because City felt Jeremy Doku was through when the full-time whistle blew, albeit in the middle of his own half. The manager gave his thoughts to the referee, went back for more, and wisely dragged himself away and marched back to the dressing room.

For the second weekend in a row, Guardiola was mocked by the fans. Last week he responded with a defiant show of six fingers for six Premier League titles. This time he could only mirror Lewis and smile slightly. He enjoyed this less than Anfield.

It's four points from a possible 18 in the Premier League now, and an opportunity to close the gap on Liverpool (who didn't play) was wasted. The manager is running out of players, and he admitted after the game that 'this season is a season to survive.' He added that 'every team' is better than them at set pieces - a worrying admission ahead of the Juventus and United games.

It's hard to have faith in things getting better when the manager is so downbeat.