It is this time of the season where teams paths are firmly laid out for them and those associated with Aston Villa know that it is 50/50 whether they survive.
Another factor which is not a secret and has not been for a long time is that Christian Benteke is one of the few players who can lead them to survival.
He can’t do it all alone. He is an extremely well rounded striker and has provided more than enough justification as to why he has been preferred to Darren Bent who continue to fluff his line when given a chance.
There need to be others who step up to the plate and whilst a youth policy and having a team that could be a core unit for several teams to come is positive it will mean nothing if relegation occurs.
If Paul Lambert is to ensure the Villains achieve Premier League it is essential that he brings to life the talents of yester year.
This is the likes of Agbonlahor and N’Zogbia. These two players have had crucial impacts in relegation battles before as well as having a say higher up the Premier League and they need to be standed up and counted.
Another key cog to the machine is Ron Vlaar who needs to justify why he was signed for big money in the summer.
A loss to Man City was expected but winnable games will arise and soon, and they need more than Benteke to pull them over the line.