Every game that Pep Guardiola has been able to since the restart, the Manchester City manager has named Aymeric Laporte and Eric Garcia as his two centre-backs.
That partnership, having never previously been paired together, played in the 3-0 win over Arsenal that kicked off the Premier League resumption. After Garcia had recovered from his concussion suffered in that game, they have been reunited for the games with Liverpool and Southampton.
Three games and one goal conceded is pretty good going, especially considering the nature of the opposition, and both players have demonstrated what makes them individuals that the manager can count on.
Laporte is as close to Guardiola's complete centre-back as he could wish for, oozing class and authority that combines limiting risks near his own third with being comfortable bringing the ball out and passing between the lines.
Garcia, as the manager has said on a number of occasions, simply doesn't seem to make mistakes. That, in a team that has made far too many this season as they showed again here at St Mary's, is priceless enough, but he also knows how to cover his natural limitations.
If they are both excellent defenders in their own right, at Southampton they showed their worth as a pair. With the shouts of the players easy to hear without any supporters in stadiums, City's stars were given frequent instructions from their centre-back pair.
Belying his tender years, Garcia showed the attitude that has seen him recognised as a senior player. In the space of 60 first-half seconds, the 19-year-old had barked a reminder to Joao Cancelo, told Laporte the line that they needed to hold and then shouted and gesticulated to Fernandinho what was needed ahead of a Southampton throw.
Laporte too was constantly chatting across the line, reassuring and making sure everyone was where they needed to be.
That communication between the pair may diminish over time as the more they play together the less that has to be said - or it may not. .That is less important than the instructions they give their teammates, which is unlikely to change given the nature of both characters.
And based on their three games together, this has the makings of an excellent partnership that deserves more time to see how it develops.
City will be in the market for a centre-back when the transfer window opens, having failed to replace Vincent Kompany last year and paid the price of a Premier League title. Garcia has come on leaps and bounds though, and appears to have parachuted in ahead of Nicolas Otamendi and John Stones since the restart.
Going forwards though, the idea of Garcia and Laporte as an option is certainly worth talking about.
