He is the player famously dubbed Liverpool's "lighthouse", the beacon on which so many opposing dangers flounder.
But the Reds were very much in the dark about Fabinho the last time they crossed swords with Chelsea in the League Cup.
Back in September 2018, the Brazilian had made a blink-and-you'd-miss-it bow from the bench late on against Paris Saint-Germain before being given a full debut for the visit of the Londoners the following week.
Liverpool lost 2-1, with Fabinho having to wait another month for his next start as he struggled to adjust to his new surrounds following his £43.7million move from Monaco that summer.
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Such uncertain beginnings, though, have long since been banished, with the defensive midfielder having recently celebrated his 150th Reds appearance and an integral part of a side that will aim to claim the first major silverware of the season when taking on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
And Liverpool's Brazilian connection - Alisson Becker arrived a few months afterwards with Roberto Firmino already at the club - has helped make the difference on and off the pitch.
"I remember when I arrived at the club, Bobby Firmino and his family were important for me and my family," says Fabinho.
"They really helped us to feel welcome the best way possible. To feel like home.
"When you have Brazilians on your team it is good, particularly as my English was not that good when I first came. It was good to have them around you.
"I have improved a lot with my English since I have been at Liverpool. I had some lessons and it helped of course when you hear it at the training ground or from the manager.
"You learn from them, if I don’t understand something I ask. This is my fourth season at Liverpool, I have learned a lot."
While Firmino will be absent through injury and Alisson benched with Caoimhin Kelleher in goal, there will most likely be at least one other Brazilian on the field in the shape of veteran Chelsea centre-back Thiago Silva.
"It is always good to see other Brazilians being successful at their clubs as well," says Fabinho.
"Thiago since he arrived at Chelsea, I just heard good things about him.
"Now I think he is 37 but he is still playing at a really good level, a really high level. I am happy for him as well for everything he has done and keeps doing for Chelsea.
"But Sunday hopefully he will not play the greatest game of his life - and we will be the winners of this final!"
There has been nothing to separate Chelsea and Liverpool in their Premier League meetings this season after a 1-1 draw at Anfield in August was followed by a 2-2 scrap at Stamford Bridge at the start of the year.
The Reds were outplayed for spells in that second game having gone two goals head early on, and Fabinho acknowledges the outcome on Sunday could be determined by who wins the midfield battle.
"Of course," he says. "I remember our last game against Chelsea, the midfield was really important. I remember (Mateo) Kovacic scored a really nice goal and he and (N'Golo) Kante played a good game.
"We did well too. We had to keep pressing them, they kept the ball well and moved it from side to side, we had to work really hard.
"I think on Sunday it’ll be similar. We have to work hard, to try and press them and recover the ball, and with the ball to create spaces and make chances."
Fabinho's importance as the number six is readily acknowledged by his team-mates. "He is outstanding in that role," says Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson. "His biggest quality is defensively and how he reads the game., how he sniffs danger and stops counter-attacks.
"On the ball he is very good as well. He keeps things moving and connects the play from the back four to the forwards really well. To be honest, he's good at everything!"
Indeed, Fabinho has added a new string to his bow in the last two months, scoring five goals in his last nine appearances to more than double his previous Liverpool tally.
"I think the reason is that I am getting into the box more often," he explains. "Before I was the last man to defend the counter-attack. I am more often in the box so have more opportunities to score.
"I always try different movements, first and second balls, and our team is really good at set-pieces. When you have team-mates who win the ball in the air, it can always fall to you. I try to be alive and score."
Fabinho has been a more regular marksman than Thiago Alcantara, with home he as formed a midfield partnership that is still yet to taste defeat since the Spaniard's signing in September 2020.
"Thiago is more offensive than me so I think he has more chances to score than me," continues Fabinho. "He is really important in the organisation as well. Hopefully he will start to score more as well."
And while Liverpool remain in the hunt for an unprecedented quadruple, Fabinho is adamant concentration is only on the Reds' next test.
"I don’t really think about four trophies," he says. "When you play two or three times a week, you just try to prepare game by game. Just to recover because it’s not easy.
"On Sunday we have the opportunity to win the first title. After, we have enough time to think about the other games, the other titles. Let’s think about the next one, working game by game has worked so far."
