Enzo Maresca is two hours from joining a club so exclusive it barely has a membership list. Beat Sunderland at the Etihad on Sunday and he becomes only the sixth manager to win his first five Premier League games in charge of a club.
City have taken maximum points from their opening four league games under the Italian. Last weekend's 1-0 win at Manchester United kept the run intact, and Wednesday's 5-0 Carabao Cup dismissal of Norwich — a night when Maresca made ten changes — did nothing to suggest the machine is creaking.
The names already in the five-from-five group are not the sort you stumble into. Carlo Ancelotti and Maurizio Sarri both managed it at Chelsea. Ancelotti went one better and made it six. Pep Guardiola did the same at City in 2016. Craig Shakespeare managed six at Leicester, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer six at United. A mixed bag, granted, but a short one.
Maresca, though, is not counting anything yet. He watched Sunderland's recent matches and did not much like what he saw.
"I have the feeling that the Sunderland game will be the toughest game since we started the season," he said.
That is not the standard pre-match deflection. City's fixture list has been awkward enough already, and Maresca used his midweek selection to address the load. Ten changes at Carrow Road were designed to protect those who had gone the distance against Porto and United.
"We gave rest to the ones that played back-to-back 90 minutes against Porto and United," he explained.
"It was important for them to give them rest and hopefully they can be full of energy for Sunday's game that will be a strong game."
City are also waiting on Jeremy Doku, who has been on the sidelines and remains a doubt for the weekend.
Five league games into a reign is no time for sweeping statements. Nobody wins a trophy in September, and Maresca knows the difference between a good start and a season. But five wins from five would put him on a very short list — and leave Sunderland, and everyone else, with something to think about.