With Kevin De Bruyne a doubt for the Manchester derby due to a shoulder injury, for once it's a Manchester United playmaker who is in the spotlight as a potential match-winner.
Since a move from Sporting that could cost up to €80 million (£68m/$89m), Bruno Fernandes has made a huge impact at Old Trafford. Following his arrival, United haven't lost a game and are currently unbeaten in nine across all competitions, scoring 22 goals and conceding just two.
If reports from Portugal were to believed, the 25-year-old could have been lining up in the blue of City. His advisers went into overdrive last summer to try to find him a Premier League club and there was a belief that his game as a goalscoring, creative midfielder would make him a perfect fit in Pep Guardiola's side. The City manager didn't agree.
"I don’t know what it means ‘my type of player'," he said ahead of Sunday's derby. "I like defenders too and good headers.
"I don’t believe too much that these players are perfect for this manager. I think he is an exceptional player that is why Man United bought him."
The truth is City never got close to signing him. The Premier League champions regularly sends scouts to watch the top Portuguese sides and Fernandes was talked about at plenty of leading clubs last season after scoring 32 goals from midfield. But while Fernandes was seen as a good prospect, he wasn't seen as good enough for a position that wasn't deemed priority.
There were questions around his ability to maintain possession with his pass completion rate of 73.7 per cent considerably lower than the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Phil Foden, Rodri and Fernandinho, who are all in the low 90s or very high 80s. De Bruyne is slightly lower but he is also the most creative player in Europe and makes more high-risk, high-reward passes. Despite the claims from his home country, City never considered making a move.
"I said many times it looks like we are linked with a thousand million players every month," Guardiola said. "So I don’t know if the agents want to create something to do that.
"But I think the club was not in talks with his agent about this player, but they link this guy and a thousand million more."
City's priority in the summer was a holding midfielder after the frustration of missing out on Jorginho to Chelsea, which is why they threw everything at bringing in Rodri from Atletico Madrid. Academy product Foden, meanwhile, is seen as the long-term creative source and replacement for the outgoing David Silva.
The 19-year-old took a huge step forward in his development with a man-of-the-match performance in the Carabao Cup final win over Aston Villa, which he described as a "dream come true". Another dream for the boyhood City fan would be a start in a victory at bitter rivals at United. With City facing an anxious wait over De Bruyne, he could be called in at Old Trafford and show why Fernandes was never required.
“He is with us because he is ready to play in all stages,” Guardiola said of Foden. “Home, away, friendly games, Champions League games, he is ready.”
Guardiola has had faith that Foden would emerge as Silva's heir for a long time, which is why a playmaker will not be a priority this summer even with the Spaniard's exit. City are expecting to bring in a number of new faces but only for players that they identify as fitting into their system. And the City boss feels his side's are unfairly maligned for their spending.
Ranked in Euros, United have made four signings more expensive than City's costliest recruit in De Bruyne at €75m (£66m/$86m). Premier League rivals Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have too, as well as a host of European clubs.
"When it comes to expensive players we are ranking 23 and 24 but the club has a bad reputation on that," Guardiola said. "They say, 'That's just Man City spending money' but, of course it is not true. You just have to see the numbers.
"Maybe one day [a record transfer] will happen, maybe not. The important thing is to buy good players who fit in to the way you want to play.
"The important thing is to take all the information about the player to reduce the uncertainty of a player being at a new club."
Signing - or not signing - players is always fraught with risks. United's gamble on Fernandes is paying off so far. But the Manchester derby will be a big test to see if he can lead United's charge to close the gap on their city rivals.
