Philippe Coutinho has not had the best of time since leaving Liverpool in 2018, while his inflated transfer fee meant that the Reds could sign Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk, and go on to win the lot.
The Aston Villa side that he joined is a very different one to the one now, too, with Unai Emery (and quite a lot of hefty spending) having transformed the Midlands outfit into a European-chasing side.
It will, in fact, be in the UEFA Conference League this season and will be hoping to emulate West Ham United in winning that tournament. It certainly has the right manager for European success.
Before that, though, there is a trip to Anfield to get through. Liverpool will be aiming to continue its good start to the new Premier League campaign but faces a tricky test here, especially without Virgil van Dijk (suspended) and Ibrahima Konaté (injured).
Here is a look at how Aston Villa’s availability is looking for the fixture with four players set to be sidelined and not able to be selected by Emery.
Emi Buendía and Tyrone Mings
Aston Villa has not had much luck with injuries earlier on this season. Both Emi Buendía and Tyrone Mings are long-term absentees with knee injuries.
Both are set to be out for a ‘long time’, Emery explained last week. Both have had surgery and will be big misses in the meantime. Neither, obviously, will be playing against Liverpool at Anfield.
Jacob Ramsay
Jacob Ramsay is a real talent (Steven Gerrard was a big fan during his time at Villa Park) and is another big miss. In last season’s fixture against Liverpool at Anfield, the attacking midfielder was on the scoresheet.
At the moment he has an ankle issue which is set to keep him sidelined for another few weeks yet. He won’t be involved here but will be a big boost for Emery when he returns.
Former Liverpool attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho is set to be missing for a spell but might not even be an Aston Villa player by the time the match kicks off thanks to transfer interest from a couple of places.
Fabrizio Romano reports (on Twitter/X) that Beşiktaş and Real Betis are both options for the Brazilian, with Emery prepared to lose the player brought in from Barcelona by Gerrard.Coutinho is currently sidelined with a hamstring issue but that is not expected to keep him out for long. While he has shown flashes of brilliance in the Midlands, he simply does not look like the same player that he was before his dream move to the Camp Nou.