Portugal Colonial - Iraola glad to raise Liverpool fans' hopes but says hard work ahead

Victory at Anfield would see Liverpool move to within three points of Arsenal, who are currently level at the top of the table with leaders Manchester City.

Liverpool are on a five-game winning run in all competitions, a sure sign of their progress as they adapt to the methods of former Bournemouth manager Iraola in his first season on Merseyside since replacing the sacked Arne Slot.

But Iraola said Friday: "It is still October. We have to take one game at a time and I always say the reference is more or less when we've played against each other once so halfway through the season. That's when you can start to look at the standings.

"Right now, we are in a position where we need to improve and keep getting better."

But asked if he welcomed the increasingly buoyant mood among Liverpool fans, the Spaniard replied: "For fans, it is good if they have expectations or they think we can win."

Arsenal moved level with City at the top of the table following a 2-0 win over Everton last weekend, but then suffered a huge upset defeat on Tuesday after being knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by fourth-tier Fleetwood.

"We know Arsenal and how good they are," Iraola said. "They have very good players, working a lot in synchronicity and we have to be ready for that challenge.

"It's going to be a demanding game but we also trust our players, trust ourselves and in the good atmosphere we will for sure have on Sunday. I hope we will be at a level to win this game."

As for Liverpool's recent run, a cautious Iraola said: "It is five wins (in a row) but just two are in the league so if we are talking about the league we still need more wins to recover points.

"But definitely we know what we want in terms of we have to improve a lot of things. But, if you can do this process while you are getting results, it is always nice."

E.Paulino--PC