A footballer as intelligent as Ilkay Gundogan will only be too aware but with Kevin De Bruyne fearing a spell on the sidelines, it could mean the German is forced to do something he prefers not to and take centre stage.
The 30-year-old prides himself on laying the platform for others around him to thrive and at City, there is arguably no better place to do it when your team-mates are De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Sergio Aguero. And the list could go on.
But this season, one where clubs are pushed like never before with the calendar playing catch-up to the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, it is Gundogan who has come to the fore.