Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough has confirmed on-loan goalkeeper Connor Ripley will start Wednesday night's Carabao Cup first-round tie against Oldham Athletic - the side for whom he starred last term.
The 24-year-old signed for the Brewers on Monday after penning a new two-year deal with his parent club Middlesbrough - and he goes straight into the starting line-up as Burton look to progress into the next round of the renamed cup competition.
Ripley spent last season on loan at the Latics, helping the team avoid relegation to League Two by four points and earning the player and young player of the season awards in the process.
In a hugely successful season for the Boro man, he also equalled the club record for the amount of clean sheets kept in a season and made the most saves (175) in the division.
The Brewers will head to Boundary Park with both Ripley and fellow former Oldham loanee Matt Palmer well versed in how their opposition will set out to nullify any threat from Albion.
Palmer could make his first start of the season on Wednesday, with the Carabao Cup tie representing an ideal opportunity for Clough to field players who failed to get a look-in for Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City.
"It's incredible isn't it," Clough said, when asked about the chances of Ripley's first game in an Albion shirt being against the team he spent such a successful year at.
"He spent all last season at Oldham, he comes and his first game is at Oldham away.
"And Matty Palmer as well, he's been there for a spell a season or so ago, so he knows about them.
"We've got people who need a game at this time of the season, as do a lot of the other clubs as well.
"Quite a few of the lads who were on the bench on Saturday will start the game - and we won't be risking anybody.
"And that's not being disrespectful to the Carabao Cup, that just means that we've got a game on Wednesday and then Hull and Middlesbrough away in the next seven days.
"That makes it a very tough run for us."
The only player likely to miss out through injury at Oldham is Lloyd Dyer, who came off for Luke Varney at the weekend.
"Lloyd Dyer's the only one - he felt his thigh in the last week or two and that's why he came off on Saturday," added Clough.
"I think everybody else will be okay in the 18, and that's all we've really got, so they'll all be involved."
The much-maligned Carabao Cup can be the bane of some managers - but Clough sees it as a chance for some players - the likes of Hope Akpan and Varney - to get that crucial and much-needed match fitness.
"It's ideal for that sort of thing, I think a lot of managers appreciate that as well," he said.
"To build up Hope (Akpan) is perfect, he'll start - and he needs the game.
"We're surprised at how far hope's got in the two weeks he's been with us, we didn't think he'd be anywhere near starting on Saturday, but he was.
"He got on for the last half an hour, he's worked extremely hard to get his fitness up, and he's a lot closer than we though he'd be.
"It's going to be a few weeks before we see the best of him, but it's an ideal opportunity for him - and Luke Varney's also been injured.
"Tom Naylor needs games, Matty Palmer (too), it's ideal for players like them.
"And they're first-team players, thats not putting a weakened side out.
"They are first-team players, and if you ask them, they'll say 'we are first team players and we should be in the squad on a Saturday'.
"So it's a great opportunity for them."
