Kyle Walker will hope to shrug off a foot problem in time for the Manchester derby after limping out of the Champions League win over Club Brugge.
The reliable right-back started in Wednesday's game but appeared in some discomfort in the first half and while he battled on after the break Pep Guardiola saw the need to substitute him with 10 minutes to go. Walker limped off the pitch before taking his seat on the substitutes' bench for the remainder of the game.
City have as small a turnaround as is possible before the derby, with just 62 hours between the full-time whistle in their Champions League match and the first whistle against Manchester United. Guardiola and other managers have complained before about that scheduling to the point where BT Sport have agreed not to arrange such clashes from the beginning of next season.
Until then, the fixture squeezes will keep on coming and Guardiola insisted that the Blues would play on Thursday if they were asked to as he refused to make an issue out of the timing of the derby.
Instead, the medical staff will check on the recovery of the players in the time they have - and that will include particular attention to Walker and his foot. The England international has started seven of the last eight league games and remains an essential part of the defence.
City will likely give the player every bit of time he needs to prove his fitness before Saturday lunchtime, but there were still doubts on Thursday afternoon as to whether he would recover in time.
