The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager will also have first-choice right back Antonio Valencia and squad players, goalkeeper Sergio Romero and defender Marcos Rojo, arrive at the club's training ground, 24 hours before the Sept. 10 fixture.
"We keep eight outfield players and Sam Johnstone as the goalkeeper. We are going to lose the others and we don't know the way they train, the way they recover, the life they are going to have with their national teams," Mourinho told MUTV.
"Some are coming back on the Monday before the Manchester City match but some are coming back on Friday. The day before Man City, we will still have Sergio Romero, Marcos Rojo and Valencia arriving.
"It will be a complicated process but we know it is like this when we have these players. And I would love all of the players to go because it would mean that everybody is being selected for their national teams."
There was little love lost between Mourinho and Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola when the Portuguese was in charge at Madrid and the Spaniard led Barcelona.
They will renew hostilities after the international break at Old Trafford with both sides protecting 100 percent records after three Premier League matches.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)
