Quite simply, had Manchester City's away form been half as good as what they have produced at the Etihad Stadium, they would be clear leaders at the top of the Premier League.
The fact is, though, that until recent weeks, Manuel Pellegrini's side have been inconsistent on the road, meaning that they have reached the halfway point in second spot, one point behind leaders Arsenal.
Consequently, they are the favourites with most pundits and bookmakers to win a second title in three years.
Here, Sports Mole has looked back over the opening five months to the season from City's point of view.
August
The previous summer Roberto Mancini had been criticised for not improving his title-winning squad sufficiently. This time around and under the guidance of Pellegrini, the club learnt from that lesson and recruited the likes of Alvaro Negredo, Jesus Navas, Fernandinho and Stevan Jovetic.
On the pitch, there were mixed results, as comfortable wins over Newcastle United and Hull City sandwiched a 3-2 defeat away at newly-promoted Cardiff City.
There was better news in terms of the Champions League group stages draw, though. Aside from being paired with defending champions Bayern Munich, City would also face Viktoria Plzen and CSKA Moscow - two teams that they were expected to overcome.
September
The aforementioned negative results away from home were out in force in September courtesy of a 0-0 draw at Stoke City, before a mistake by Joe Hart allowed Aston Villa to record a 3-2 win at Villa Park.
It was different story altogether at the Etihad as rivals Manchester United found out to their cost on September 22. The hosts overpowered United, with Sergio Aguero helping himself to two goals in a 4-1 thrashing.
Czech side Plzen provided the first opposition in the Champions League and despite a poor first half, City ran out 3-0 winners, while in terms of the League Cup, summer signing Jovetic scored twice as Championship side Wigan Athletic were disposed of 5-0.
October
The month of October is one that Hart will not look back on with great fondness. Following the mistake against Villa during the previous month, he was at fault for the goals as City defeated Everton 3-1 and lost by the same scoreline to Bayern Munich at the Etihad.
The situation came to a head at Stamford Bridge, when with the score level at one goal apiece, Hart committed his biggest error yet to gift Chelsea all three points. Matija Nastasic appeared to have the situation under control, but Hart came off his line and the mix-up between the pair resulted in Fernando Torres scoring the winning goal.
Nevertheless, progression in the League Cup was secured thanks to a 2-0 extra-time win away at Newcastle United.
November
Following an error-strewn October, Pellegrini dropped England's number one keeper Hart in favour of Costel Pantilimon for the visit of Norwich City, which City won by a resounding 7-0 scoreline.
They couldn't get it right on the road, though, with former Man United full-back Phil Bardsley curling in the only goal of the game as Sunderland claimed maximum points at the Stadium of Light.
The contrast in form at home was staggering as both Navas and Aguero helped themselves to braces as Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 6-0. It meant that in their last two Premier League encounters at the Etihad, City had scored 13 unanswered goals.
Pellegrini's charges also made history where the Champions League is concerned. After two failed attempts, the blue half of Manchester had qualified for the knockout stages of the competition thanks to 5-2 and 4-2 wins over CSKA and Plzen respectively.
December
There were signs in December - worryingly for their title rivals - that City had found the magic formula away from home. They took maximum points from clashes with West Bromwich Albion and Fulham, while a credible 1-1 draw was collected from a trip to Southampton. Incidentally, the Fulham match marked Hart's return to Premier League action.
No-one could beat them at home either, with big wins coming against Arsenal and Liverpool in particular. The North Londoners were defeated 6-3 in a manic nine-goal contest, while they toppled leaders Liverpool on Boxing Day 2-1 thanks to goals from Vincent Kompany and Negredo. The latter of those results was achieved without leading goalscorer Aguero, who missed most of the month with a hamstring complaint.
As for the Champions League, there was happiness and confusion all rolled into one. City defeated Bayern 3-2 in the Allianz Arena and one more goal would have seen them leapfrog the Germans as group winners. However, during his post-match interview, it was a scenario that Pellegrini had not been made aware of. As a result, the draw for the last 16 coupled City with Spanish champions Barcelona.
The Citizen's interest in the League Cup was also extended into 2014 thanks to a 3-1 quarter-final win over Leicester City. In the draw for the semis, they were kept apart from Man United and will take on West Ham United instead.
This review should conclude, though, by reflecting on City's statistics at home. Amazingly, they've won all 10 Premier League matches, scoring 38 and conceding six.
