We all know that Manchester City come into their own at the business end of the season. As Ruben Dias put it last April before their Champions League quarter-final with Bayern Munich, when they were starting to believe they could win the treble: "All of us have a special feeling and taste when it comes to this stage. Obviously, now is the time to be together and be producing - to be out there on the pitch doing what we can do best, every one of us."
City's rampant finishes to seasons, however, tend to come after sluggish starts. For whatever reason, be it integrating new signings or getting up to speed after a long break, Pep Guardiola's side tend to need a few weeks before they truly click into gear and start to rack up points at a terrifying rate.
Not this season, however. Despite an array of potential problems, City have made an imposing start to to the campaign, winning all of their opening five Premier League matches for the first time in seven years. And if they beat Nottingham Forest at home on Saturday, they will equal their best-ever start under Guardiola.
It is a terrifying prospect for the other Premier League title hopefuls, who would have hoped that winning the treble might have prompted a bit of complacency to set into Guardiola's side. Yet there is little sign of them slowing down at all...