Feature'Miracles', a Liddell masterclass and more - when Liverpool played on Christmas Day
It has been almost 70 years since Liverpool played a match on Christmas Day - but did you know it used to be a standard occurrence?
Indeed, the last time it happened, in 1957, was the 39th occasion the Reds had taken to the pitch on December 25.
The first was just two years after the club's formation and midway through their maiden campaign at First Division level.
A cause for celebration it was not, though.
Pikes Lane was the venue for Liverpool's away trip to Bolton Wanderers and the scene of particularly unwelcoming weather.
"The most miserable climatic conditions," was the description by the Liverpool Mercury. "A drizzle, accompanied by a thick fog, assisted to make the surroundings as uncomfortable as possible."
The football itself provided no relief for Liverpool and their fans.
A fifth-minute goal gave Bolton the lead and despite much dominance from the visitors over the course of the game, that 1-0 result held.
The Reds and Wanderers would be frequent Christmas Day combatants, meeting six more times on that date in the 20 years that followed.
And Liverpool's luck against them turned, with five victories and a draw recorded.
There was a clutch of December 25 games versus Derby County around the turn of the century, none of which the Reds emerged victorious from.
But a festive good-luck charm materialised as Liverpool strung together a run of eight unbeaten outings on Christmas Day between 1908 and 1922.
That streak included a second-half comeback at Anfield to defeat Sunderland 3-2 in 1919, Tom Miller delivering the winner six minutes from the end.
Kopites were treated to a thriller in 1925 as Matt McQueen's Reds racked up a 6-3 victory over Newcastle United.
It was a match that featured two hat-tricks - Harry Chambers for the hosts and Hughie Gallacher for the away side.
The Liverpool Echo summary revealed: "A score of 6-3 never looked likely when we got to the ground.
"The hardness of the turf led one man to say, 'It will be a miracle if the teams score a goal between them.' He saw many miracles."
There were few gifts for Liverpool thereafter, though, with their next 15 engagements on Christmas Day yielding one win, four draws and 10 defeats.
The 24,000 spectators who shuffled into Anfield before their turkey on December 25, 1954 were better rewarded.
Don Welsh's team thrashed Ipswich Town 6-2, with Billy Liddell scoring four times himself and credited with assisting the hosts' other two goals.
Not a bad way to toast his 350th Reds appearance.
A 1-0 home victory against Leyton Orient in 1956 preceded what is likely to be Liverpool's final-ever Christmas Day game, 12 months later.
Just as their first had been a result to forget, so was the last.
Tony Rowley put the Reds - leaders of the Second Division at the time - in front at Grimsby Town in that winter of 1957, but they ultimately succumbed to a 3-1 loss.