When we take a look back at historic line-ups, it's often to emphasise how much has changed around a football club.
You know the drill by now. Entire XIs overhauled over the space of a few years. Record signings cast off and replaced by new record signings, while the young stars of yesteryear have fallen from grace in the interim.
Not this time, though. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool side of September 2017 was beaten soundly by Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who used their man advantage to run riot in the second half and win 5-0. However, as the two teams reunite for what looks increasingly like a Premier League title decider, as many as six of that Reds starting line-up could be involved.
The September 2017 trip to the Etihad was the first time Liverpool took on City with what would become a title-winning front three. Roberto Firmino had joined in the summer of 2015, with Sadio Mane arriving 12 months later and Mohamed Salah following suit a year after that.
Mane's first-half red card undoubtedly shaped the tie, with the Senegal forward sent off for dangerous play after catching Ederson in the face and leaving the goalkeeper needing stitches. City were only one goal to the good at the time, but added four more with their man advantage.
The form or Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota means we might not see all three start this weekend, while the contract situation facing Salah, Mane and Firmino means they might not all be around for longer. However, Klopp was able to turn Liverpool into title winners with the forward-line which failed to beat Ederson that afternoon.
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While the front-line remained unchanged for years to come, the same can't be said of Liverpool's defensive set-up. While the squad still ended up reaching the final of the Champions League later that season - beating City along the way - the run owed a lot to the arrival of Virgil van Dijk in January.
Klopp left Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez on the bench for the trip to the Etihad, starting with a central defensive pairing of Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan. The duo were helpless to stop Sergio Aguero putting the hosts in front, before Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane each bagged a brace when it was 11 vs 10.
It would have been easy for Klopp to write off his entire back four after the defeat, but instead he recognised there was plenty to work with. Matip has stuck around, and is arguably playing some of his best football this season, while right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to be a must-pick despite his difficult afternoon in 2017.
The Reds did need to make some changes, of course. Klavan left in the summer, while left-back Alberto Moreno had been displaced by Andy Robertson before the end of the season and ended up moving on in 2019.
One area where Klopp has felt the need to spend big is on goal. Simon Mignolet started against City, and shared goalkeeping duties that season with Loris Karius, but the manager responded to the latter's nightmare Champions League final by bringing Alisson to Anfield in 2018.
Matip and Alexander-Arnold have stood firm, though, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see both start at the Etihad on Sunday. That's a free transfer and an academy graduate, showing together that, in the right environment, heavy spending isn't necessary.
Things are a little different when it comes to the midfield, but even here there is a consistent cog. Jordan Henderson was close to leaving Liverpool long before Klopp's arrival, but has remained a key man for the Reds and is the only survivor from the midfield three in that September 2017 game.
With Philippe Coutinho missing out after his return from international duty, the other midfield spots were occupied by Gini Wijnaldum and Emre Can. Even here, 2016 arrival Wijnaldum remained a key part of Klopp's squad up until the end of the 2020-21 season, winning the Premier League and Champions League along the way.
Can would end up joining Juventus at the end of the season, but midfield substitute James Milner is still on the Reds' books and started the reverse fixture against City in October. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - a half-time replacement for Salah back in 2017 - is also still around, though fellow sub Dominic Solanke was allowed to leave.
So that's six starters from 2017 who could feature in 2022, as well as three subs - Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain and the unused Gomez - who could be in line for minutes at the Etihad. The big-money signings in the interim have had an obvious benefit, not just Alisson but midfield arrivals like Fabinho and Van Dijk at the heart of the defence.
Sometimes spending will be necessary, but Klopp has shown the benefit of improving the players you already have. And it's that continuity, as well as the addition of quality, which has served the Reds so well.
Liverpool's XI at Manchester City, September 2017: Mignolet; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Klavan, Moreno; Wijnaldum (Milner), Henderson, Can; Salah (Oxlade-Chamberlain), Firmino (Solanke), Mane. Unused subs: Karius, Lovren, Gomez, Sturridge.
