The Liverpool fan set to play at Anfield for Accrington

Two months ago, Josh Woods was sitting successful the Kop astatine Anfield cheering Liverpool to a Champions League triumph implicit Bayer Leverkusen and singing You'll Never Walk Alone.

Accrington Stanley's 24-year-old guardant is simply a Liverpool instrumentality who grew up idolising Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.

He inactive watches them whenever helium tin but connected Saturday, acknowledgment to the FA Cup, helium volition get to stock a transportation with his boyhood team.

Woods volition measurement retired astatine Anfield with League Two Accrington erstwhile they instrumentality connected the Premier League leaders successful the 3rd round.

He was successful the Liverpool extremity astatine Wembley to spot the Reds bushed Chelsea successful the 2022 FA Cup final earlier returning to the nationalist stadium erstwhile the 2 teams met successful Carabao Cup last past February.

Despite different Liverpool win, his travel to Wembley 11 months agone turned sour arsenic helium missed each the enactment due to the fact that of problems getting into the ground., external

There volition beryllium nary entree issues this weekend.

Woods is expected to diagnostic for the squad 19th successful League Two against the squad six points wide astatine the apical of the Premier League.

"When I spell and ticker Liverpool I ever deliberation to myself, 'I'd emotion to play astatine Anfield 1 day'," helium tells BBC Sport.

"Now it's astir to happen. Dreams bash travel true."

Woods' emotion of Liverpool is partially down to his dad, Dale, who utilized to beryllium a steward astatine Anfield, portion member Connor, 26, was erstwhile portion of Liverpool's academy and present plays for Warrington Town successful National League North.

Saturday volition not beryllium the archetypal clip Woods, who was brought up successful Skelmersdale, westbound Lancashire, has stepped ft connected Liverpool's pitch.

He remembers the clip helium was chased disconnected the Anfield playing aboveground aft watching his member play an academy game.

"I was lone five, I jumped implicit the partition and ran on," helium laughs. "I was conscionable moving astir successful circles. My mum and dada were screaming astatine maine to get off."

Around the aforesaid clip helium had his representation taken with the Champions League trophy soon aft Rafael Benitez's Liverpool overcame AC Milan successful a dramatic 2005 final.

Woods besides recalls gathering Ian Rush, Liverpool's grounds scorer with 346 goals, erstwhile helium was increasing up.

"I was with my mum successful Liverpool and got a representation with him," helium says.

Rush's sanction featured successful an iconic 1980s tv beverage advert featuring 2 young Liverpool fans.

One tells the different that Rush had told him that if helium didn't portion milk, helium would lone beryllium bully capable to play for Accrington Stanley, who were successful the Northern Premier League erstwhile the advert archetypal aired.

The different instrumentality asks, "Accrington Stanley, who are they?", to which the archetypal replies, "Exactly."

"Yes, I've seen it," says Woods astir the advert. "It's comic due to the fact that each clip I notation to idiosyncratic I play for Accrington Stanley, they ever bring that advert up."

Woods was acceptable for a vocation arsenic a barber earlier helium signed for Accrington successful 2021 aft being spotted playing for Skelmersdale-based squad Clay Brow.

He has been cutting hairsbreadth since the property of 12 and utilized the wealth helium earned to ticker Liverpool.

"I started barbering, moving arsenic a Saturday lad successful Skelmersdale," says Woods.

"I ne'er thought I would beryllium a nonrecreational footballer. I played for the schoolhouse squad but I was ne'er good. I conscionable wanted to chopped hairsbreadth and ticker football.

"I'd get the bid from Ormskirk to Kirkdale and locomotion 15 minutes to Anfield. I loved watching Liverpool."

It was lone aft Woods near schoolhouse and started playing again with his friends that helium realised helium was overmuch amended astatine football.

"I retrieve having a contention with 1 of the lads who was the fastest successful our twelvemonth astatine schoolhouse and I bushed him. I felt wholly antithetic successful my caput and successful my body."

Woods developed his skills playing Sunday league and was astir to spell connected proceedings astatine non-league Warrington Rylands erstwhile helium was invited to bid with Accrington, wherever helium present wears the fig 39 shirt.

His emotion of cutting hairsbreadth inactive continues though, with team-mates Liam Coyle and Ben Woods - nary narration - connected his database for a abbreviated backmost and sides earlier the large time astatine Anfield.

Accrington's mean League Two attendance this play is 2,434 but treble that fig are making the travel from eastbound Lancashire to Anfield to cheer connected John Doolan's underdogs.

"Liverpool are the champion squad successful the satellite close present - apical of the Premier League, apical of the Champions League," adds Woods, whose absorption erstwhile helium recovered retired Accrington had been drawn against his beloved squad went viral connected societal media.

A clip of him jumping disconnected his sofa and dancing astir his surviving country has been viewed tens of thousands of times.

"I was successful daze for the archetypal hr and past each my emotions came out," helium says astir the draw. "Connor was with maine and it got a spot emotional.

"We're some from non-league backgrounds and you don't ever deliberation you're going to get a accidental to play astatine Anfield."

Accrington are facing a squad who person mislaid conscionable 2 of their 29 games this season.

Meanwhile, the League Two nine person mislaid 10 of their 23 league games.

"We had 1 oregon 2 atrocious results successful December - we mislaid astatine location to Bromley and Salford," says Woods, whose mediate sanction is Stanley aft his grandad - not the squad helium presently plays for.

"But successful the past 2 games we've managed to crook it astir and we tin bask this weekend.

"We're going overnight and I privation to instrumentality everything successful from the travel to Liverpool to walking retired astatine Anfield.

"It's going to beryllium a peculiar day. But we cognize we're determination to bash our jobs."