After beating Rangers for the first time earlier this season, Derek McInnes stuck with the same Heart of Midlothian team for another five matches.
Following another win in Glasgow, a 2-1 victory at Celtic Park early this month, he fielded the same XI in the following game against Falkirk. He no doubt would have plumped for it again for last Sunday's Tynecastle Park clash, had Harry Milne not been suspended and Craig Halkett ruled out with a slight knee injury.
After another massive victory over one of the Old Firm sides, he is faced with some tough decisions for the derby against Hibs at Easter Road.
Do Milne, Halkett and Beni Baningime - three of the club's best players this season - come straight back in?
"I haven't thought about that yet. Obviously, we'll see how we get through training, we've still got a couple of days of training, two or three days of training left to see how we go," McInnes said.
"Sunday was good in the sense that we came through it without a couple of key players. Harry and Craig, who have been brilliant performers for us. You then get Beni on the pitch, and you see how the fans reacted to him, and that's no different to his team-mates and ourselves. It's just getting bodies back.
"We know that it's very rare that you get everybody fit, in particular all your key players, but certainly working week to week now as we are this month, because we took the Falkirk game [forward], we don't have the game on the 30th. It means we go from Hibs to Livingston hopefully with another free weeks' work to build those minutes up for a lot of boys who have been out like Beni."
The 4-3-3 he first moved to at Parkhead has continued to serve him well in every game since. But 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 have both worked in big games already this season, too.
Should Milne come straight back in at left-back after serving his suspension, it would be harsh on Stephen Kingsley to drop out, but not a surprise. The former Partick Thistle man offers more energy and running power, getting forward at will as well as bringing his defensive qualities.
And then there is Halkett. The club's best centre-back is likely to take his slot back next to Stuart Findlay, with Frankie Kent dropping back to the bench. That, of course, depends on Halkett being ruled fit, but McInnes had seemed optimistic of his chances of returning for the derby.
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Baningime made his return to action as a substitute against Rangers and the head coach couldn't hide his delight about that, a player he loves. He has also been magnificent in games of this magnitude and is the type of player who can make a massive difference with his composure on the ball as well as effectiveness out of possession.
However, Cammy Devlin, Tomas Magnusson and Oisin McEntee have been operating as a three and it is a dynamic which has been working very well with Devlin sitting at the base and the other two going box-to-box.
That blend of physical presence and athleticism could work very well in a derby, while McInnes' comments seemed to suggest Baningime is still building back up. He would be the perfect substitute, in terms of energy levels, experience and expertise on the ball.
Claudio Braga missed training after his ankle swelled up following the Rangers win, but was expected to take part later in the week before being ready for Saturday, meaning the front three continues to pick itself.
