Harry Kewell will be asked to solve Liverpool's attacking problems by playing his first game for two months against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Manager Rafael Benitez is without the injured Djibril Cisse and Florent Sinama-Pongelle, while Fernando Morientes is cup-tied for the game at Anfield.
Australian Kewell has been plagued by an Achilles injury since his last match on December 19.
"Harry is fit and I think he will play. He can play well because he is a key man for us and is a fantastic player," Benitez told reporters on Monday.
"We need Harry Kewell, we need to see the best of Harry and I have been saying that all season."
Benitez is also without suspended England midfielder Steven Gerrard, and experienced defender Mauricio Pellegrino also misses the game after playing for Valencia in an earlier round.
Liverpool meet Chelsea in the League Cup final on Sunday and Benitez is determined not to let his side view the clash with the German side as a warm-up.
"There are 16 teams left and if you talk about the best clubs in the tournament, maybe they (Leverkusen) are not the best," he added.
"But they are still a very good team and showed that against Liverpool a couple of years ago.
"They are a strong team with a lot of experience and it will be very difficult for us."
Leverkusen knocked Liverpool out of the Champions League at the quarter-final stage in 2001-02, winning 4-2 at home in the second leg.
Defender John Arne Riise recognises that match as the biggest disappointment of his football career.
"Everyone thought that year was the year we could win it and we were disappointed to go out," he said.
"We have another chance and we won't make the same mistakes again in Germany.
"It was a disappointing season all round that year as we also came second in the league with 80 points and normally that is enough to win the league."