If things had been different, Steven Gerrard could have been receiving a hero's welcome when he hosts Chelsea at Villa Park on Boxing Day.
The Liverpool legend's relationship with the Blues has been such a tumultuous one that once again, like his return to Anfield recently, Gerrard will have been at pains to underline how this game isn't about him.
Blues fans will no doubt be lining up to taunt Gerrard once again about the slip that all but cost Liverpool the Premier League title in 2014. But Gerrard has demonstrated more than enough as a manager already to prove the sense of occasion is not something that will filter into his thinking for this game.