Former Wales international Mark Delaney is set to take charge of Aston Villa's depleted young side as they look to topple Liverpool in the FA Cup third round tonight.
The move will see Delaney take his place in the dugout amid a chaotic outbreak of Covid-19 within Villa's Bodmoor Heath training ground this week, with boss Dean Smith, along with the club's entire 25-man Premier League squad, currently self-isolating for a period of 10 days.
However, despite uncertainty, Villa have confirmed that the game will go ahead, following discussions with the FA.
The club tweeted on Friday morning: "Aston Villa can confirm that the #EmiratesFACup Third Round tie with Liverpool will be played at Villa Park this evening."
But with the entire senior squad unavailable, Villa will now field a team of comprised of under-23s and under-18s players against the Reds.
Delaney, who earned 36 caps for Wales, is likely to be joined by assistant George Boateng in the dugout, with the pair making 319 combined appearances for the club as players.
Both have been in dialogue with Smith, academy manager Mark Harrison and under-18s assistant Sean Verity as they look to put a team together for tonight's cup clash.
Delaney himself has previously spoken of the standards he expects from his young stars, who are likely to face a strong, albeit similarly unfamiliar Liverpool line-up tonight.
He said: "It's important to have that relationship with the club. I've been here 21 years. The way I understand the club is the way I put it onto the players: You give 100 per cent for this club. You wear your heart on your sleeve for this club and you will get your rewards and fans and family will appreciate that.
"If you play at Villa Park and give your all the fans will back you all of the time. I try to instil that with the players. They're all technically gifted and they're all here for a reason but it's having that mental strength, desire and drive to be the best player you can be which fans will approve of."
Despite the obvious doubts over the game, Villa were reportedly keen to fulfill the fixture against the champions, whom they thrashed in a shock 7-2 win earlier in the season.
The game may well have similar tone to that of the League Cup meeting between the two sides in December 2019.
With Liverpool competing in the Club World Cup in Qatar, Jurgen Klopp was replaced by under-23s boss Neil Critchley in the Liverpool dugout, with the Reds naming a line-up with an average age of just 19.
Villa cruised to a 5-0 win on that occasion.
Smith had intended to rest a number of first team stars anyway, but this latest Covid-19 outbreak has clearly thrown Villa's preparations into chaos.
It also remains to be seen whether Villa's scheduled Premier League clash at home to Tottenham Hotspur at Villa Park on Wednesday will go ahead.
