When Jurgen Klopp announced he was leaving Liverpool at the end of last season, there was always a fair chance of seeing Xabi Alonso in the dugout at Anfield in 2024-25 – if not as Liverpool manager then, with Bayer Leverkusen romping to their first ever title, in the newfangled Champions League.

It will come to pass at just before 8pm when Alonso takes his seat for a top-of-the-table clash. (Look, when there are 36 teams, 2nd v 6th counts as top of the table.) It’s 15 years since Alonso last graced Anfield, long enough to make a supercentenarian feel old.

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