Leeds United and James Milner will be reunited when they face Liverpool.
The EFL Cup draw has pitched Leeds United against Liverpool in the quarter-finals, and the tie is particularly notable for one player in particular.
James Milner is likely to feature for Liverpool against his boyhood club, who he left as a teenager when they were in dire financial circumstances.
James Milner celebrates scoring for Leeds
The last time the two teams met, Milner was in action for Leeds in the fixture, with his career just getting started.
After spells with Newcastle, Aston Villa and Manchester City, he signed with Liverpool two summers ago and has been effective for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Milner has always spoken well of Leeds, and facing his former club will likely stir up some emotions.
Liverpool’s James Milner celebrates scoring
While he will fancy that he can play at the very top level for a while yet, the meeting with Leeds will give him a chance to assess the possibility of rejoining his old team at one stage.
One scenario is that he rejoins Leeds at the very tail end of his career, when he is 35 or 36, for a season or two before retiring.
The other is that he signs on in a couple of years, and has three or four quality years at Elland Road where he can take a leadership role and try and help re-establish themselves as one of England’s best.
For this to play out, Milner will have to be impressed with what he sees from Leeds when they face Liverpool.
Liverpool’s James Milner scores from the penalty spot
With the game taking place at Anfield, emotion from returning to Elland Road will not be a factor, and his opinion of the game will be based largely on the quality of Garry Monk’s side, and the young players following in his footsteps.
Leeds are just three points off the play-offs in the Championship, and are playing with confidence. They could make a quicker return to the Premier League than seemed possible at the start of the season, should they be able to keep up the strong form of the past month.
They will go to Anfield believing they can win, but the long term impression and reminder they leave on Milner could shape his decision as to whether he can envision a comeback sooner rather than later, once his time at Liverpool is up.
Liverpool’s James Milner celebrates
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