Erling Haaland has found his range. Five goals in three games, three of them headers from crosses out wide, and a brace at the Estádio do Dragão that decided City's win over FC Porto. The Norwegian is, on this evidence, the best pure number nine in the world.
Today he walks into Old Trafford for the 199th Manchester derby, a ground where he has scored eight goals in ten matches against United. That record alone would make him the obvious trump card. The fact he is arriving in this sort of form makes him something closer to a certainty.
Enzo Maresca has tweaked the approach this season. Haaland is more involved in build-up, less of a static target, and the team looks for him in behind more often than they did under Pep Guardiola. The result is a striker who is both a focal point and a runner — a difficult combination to defend.
He has still missed chances. Coventry City and FC Porto both saw him pass up opportunities he would normally take. That is the nature of a centre-forward who operates on such fine margins. The difference is that he is now getting into positions to miss them, and three headers in three games suggests the service from wide areas is improving.
United will know what is coming. Crosses from the flanks, early balls in behind, and a physical presence in the box that few defenders enjoy facing. Whether they can stop it is another matter. Haaland's derby record suggests they have struggled before.
Maresca will set up to exploit that. The 199th derby is a chance for City to make a statement, and Haaland is the most likely author of it. If the headers keep landing, Old Trafford could be in for a long afternoon.