Manuel Pellegrini faces a midfield selection dilemma when Manchester City host Tottenham on Saturday as he decides whether to rest Yaya Toure again.
Toure, 31, is due to play for Ivory Coast against DR Congo on Wednesday in his home nation, and so will return back to Manchester later than Pellegrini would prefer.
The City boss omitted the midfielder from the squad to face Arsenal in the first fixture after the September international break as he had played in Cameroon three days earlier and only arrived in England a day before the game.
Pellegrini's decision this time around, however, is complicated by the question of whether Fernandinho will be fit to feature at the Etihad Stadium against Spurs.
The 29-year-old came off in the 2-0 win at Aston Villa on Oct. 4 with a hamstring problem and the Premier League champions have yet to say how severe the injury is.
If Toure and Fernandinho -- the club's regular central-midfield partnership last season -- are both out, it only leaves summer signings Frank Lampard and Fernando as available specialists in the position, with the latter expected to be fully fit after making his comeback as a substitute at Villa Park.
Another issue for Pellegrini to consider is the effect of jet lag on his three Argentina internationals, who have this week travelled back from Hong Kong.
Pablo Zabaleta came off the bench while Martin Demichelis and Sergio Aguero were unused substitutes in the 2014 World Cup finalists' 7-0 win over Hong Kong on Tuesday.
After taking on Tottenham, City have a pivotal Champions League game against CSKA Moscow in Russia on Tuesday.
Pellegrini may consider resting players for the clash with Spurs in a bid to help them kick-start their European campaign after only taking one point from their first two group-stage matches.