Close friends Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso will go head to head when Liverpool take on Chelsea in the Carabao Cup this evening at Anfield

If Andoni Iraola regards Liverpool's busy run of fixtures as influential in shaping the immediate future of his team, it has also offered an opportunity to catch up with long-time acquaintances.

While last Tuesday saw a reunion with former Rayo Vallecano assistant Inigo Perez with Villarreal in town, on Sunday comes the visit of close friend and ex-team-mate Mikel Arteta with Arsenal.

Tonight, though, it is the turn of Xabi Alonso with Iraola's fellow Basque back on his old stomping ground with Chelsea for a Carabao Cup fourth round tie.

One of the more increasingly well-known pieces of current Premier League trivia is that Iraola, Alonso and Arteta were born seven months apart and were all team-mates at the same amateur club Antiguoko in San Sebastian.

"Everyone knows that we were close friends, we grew up together, we played in the same team," said Iraola. "We played as football players against each other, we played together in the national team in Spain and with the Basque country.

"But now he's the opposition and we want to beat him – and the same way he will do with us. After the game, we can talk, definitely.

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"I said the other day with Inigo and it's the same with Xabi, once we are playing against each other, the relationship is not good because you kind of stop talking to the other, kind of a respect thing.

"But he's a very good friend and I wish him all the best, definitely."

It doesn't take a huge leap of imagination to envisage Alonso instead being in the home dugout rather than in opposition this evening.

Timing, though, meant the former Spain international stayed loyal to Bayer Leverkusen when Jurgen Klopp quit in 2024, and had already accepted the Chelsea role by the time Arne Slot was jettisoned two years later.

Iraola, though, was always deemed the preferred choice to replace Slot. And there was a notable moment after Sunday's Premier League home win over Brighton when, on approaching the Kop to celebrate, the Reds head coach was given a warmer ovation and responded accordingly.

"I said it since the first day, you have to earn the right to belong and you only get it with good performances, with wins, and this will take time," he said.

"But I am glad because I felt the other day the supporters helped us a lot and they were enjoying it the same as we were and I think the players had a very likeable performance in terms of they gave everything, we were blocking everything, we were tackling, we were fighting, we were winning duels, we were making the runs in behind.

"Those things you want to see and everyone wants to see. I enjoyed it, yes."

Asked if he had started to earn the respect of the Liverpool fanbase, Iraola added: “Start, yes. I would say start. Still we need more wins, we need more performances so we need more time.

"The more time we stay together, the more experiences we have together, the more comebacks, the more sometimes losses, the better you know each other and the easier it is to have references, to evolve.

"We want to do this process while we win games and that's the secret. But now every game is a challenge, everything is costing us, but we have to keep going."

Winning silverware is often the shortcut into the affections of any fanbase, and Liverpool will hope to take a step nearer Wembley with victory this evening against a Chelsea side they have beaten in two of the last five League Cup finals.

Nobody has won the competition more than 10 times the Reds have lifted the trophy. And while this is the sixth of nine games in 29 days for Liverpool, Iraola has vowed to field a strong team despite being once again poised to rotate his resources with Kostas Tsimikas, Joe Gomez, Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha all pressing for a start, although there remains doubts over Dominik Szoboszlai and Victor Munoz.

Giorgi Mamardashvili is expected to replace Alisson Becker between the sticks having already been determined Liverpool's goalkeeper in the competition.

"I think every competition is an opportunity, especially when you are the coach of Liverpool," said Iraola. "You have to take it like this.

"I would love to win and have the chance to get further in the competition. But I know that we have to play very well, we have to beat a very good team.

"It's also a team that doesn't play in Europe, so for sure for them this competition is also very important. So, it's not going to be easy."