Tuesday night will bring a reunion for Ben Davies as he visits Liverpool with Rangers, with the centre-back set for his first-ever start at Anfield.
Davies spent less than a year-and-a-half on the books at Liverpool, following a deadline-day move from Preston in February 2021, failing to make a competitive appearance.
The defender, signed for an initial £500,000, was on the bench eight times in the second half of 2020/21, before spending the following campaign on loan with Sheffield United.
After dropping even further down the pecking order under Jurgen Klopp, the 27-year-old then opted to leave the club in the summer transfer window, heading to Rangers in a deal worth up to £4 million.
It served as a big profit for Liverpool and a step in the right direction for Davies, who is now set to start for Rangers in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
This comes due to long-term injuries to John Souttar and Filip Helander, with the No. 26 expected to take his place alongside Connor Goldson at Anfield.
Davies partnered Goldson in the 4-0 win over Hearts on Saturday, though was brought off at half-time after picking up an early yellow card, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst eager to avoid going down to 10 men.
The versatile James Sands replaced Davies at the weekend, but is suspended in the Champions League having been sent off in the 3-0 defeat to Napoli last time out.
Sands’ absence adds to the loss of Souttar and Helander, effectively giving Van Bronckhorst no option but to hand Davies his first-ever start at Anfield.
It will be a surreal occasion for a player who very briefly dreamed of representing Liverpool on these nights, but gives him a chance to prove himself after a disappointing stint on Merseyside.
Beyond Souttar, Helander and Sands, Rangers are also without Ianis Hagi, Nnamdi Ofoborh and backup goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin, while there are doubts over Tom Lawrence and Kemar Roofe.
Rangers have lost both of their games in Group A so far, with a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Ajax followed by the 3-0 loss to Napoli, leaving them bottom of the table.
