Manchester City must win at Crystal Palace on Saturday before they begin their Club World Cup campaign, insists Mail Sport’s Football Editor Ian Ladyman on It’s All Kicking Off. 

Pep Guardiola’s side have enjoyed a dream-like run in the Champions League that has seen them win each of their six group stage fixtures, but have endured greater tumult in their Premier League defence. 

Stymied by injuries and suspensions, Man City won just one league match in November, and had their feet held to the fire in their latest Premier League encounter against Luton, which saw them seal their first win in their last five games. 

Guardiola’s side play their last Premier League fixture for some time before flying to Saudi Arabia to face either Leon or Urawa Reds in their semi-final next week. 

Manchester City must beat Crystal Palace on Saturday after claiming their first league win in five against Luton last weekend

Pep Guardiola has previously been vocal about the impact of fatigue and a packed schedule

Upon their return from the Club World Cup, Man City will face a determined Everton side 

Ladyman argued that victory at the Etihad must be non-negotiable before the club travel to ‘that annual pointless FIFA Jamboree exhibition game that goes by the name of the Club World Cup’. 

Deriding the tournament, he added: ‘If there’s a bigger waste of time in club football than this nonsense, I’d like to know what it is. City off there, no doubt they beat the team from Australia to lift the trophy or something. 

‘My broad point here is that they’ll miss a game, obviously, a Premier League game, while they’re there. And when they come back they go straight into the away game at Everton, which I believe is on the 27th of December. 

‘Everton are flying. That’s not gonna be an easy game to come back to when you’ve got jet lag in the system.

So they’ve got to beat Palace. This little gap that’s opening up between City doesn’t need to be any bigger than it needs to be, does it?’

Since receiving their 10-point deduction and dropping into the relegation zone in November, Sean Dyche’s side have shown remarkable resilience and have since hauled themselves up to 17th following wins against Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, and Chelsea.

But co-host Chris Sutton argued that it would be wrong to assume that the competition could hinder the side and suggested that the tournament may have more value to players than Ladyman inferred.  

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‘Are we going to write Manchester City off? No, you know, of course we’re not,’ Sutton responded. ‘Do I buy into all the jet lag stuff? Come on. I mean, you know, they fly first class. They’re well looked after.

‘(Facing Everton) never was going to be an easy game had they, you know, travelled over from Manchester and had two weeks off or, you know, two weeks rest and recuperation. 

‘With regards to the World Club Cup, I’m not as angry about it as you. I’ve not seen Pep’s comments on this, but he was moaning earlier on this season about the number of games and players being fatigued.

‘From a player’s perspective, do you grow up thinking when you’re playing in the playground at school, I want to win the World Club Cup? Of course you don’t because you haven’t really heard of it. 

‘Having said that, I do think that at the end of your career, when you’re in your late 70s and you’ve got your World Club Cup medal on the mantelpiece and your little grandkid comes up to you and says, “what’s that granddad?”

Man City gained qualification for the tournament in Saudi Arabia with Champions League win

The club will contest the international FIFA tournament for the first time in their history

‘That’s a World Club Cup. That’s a World Club Cup medal. That’s what that is.’

Whilst Ladyman insisted that the tie was irrelevant and ‘nobody watched’ the hypothetical game, Sutton imagined a future where the teams involved had a greater standing. 

But, Sutton said that he was ‘more with’ Ladyman and his thoughts on the commitment to the Club World Cup, before his co-host added: ‘I think we know what Pep will be thinking about this game. 

‘I know he’s not said it, but I think we know damn well what he’ll be thinking.’