Virgil van Dijk feels Liverpool’s title bid will be tested against Manchester City.
Jurgen Klopp’s side travel to the Etihad Stadium after the international break for a top-of-the-table clash between the Premier League heavyweights.
Just one point separates the Reds from the reigning champions as they plot to renew a rivalry which has come to redefine the modern top-flight standards.
And Van Dijk expects the showdown to provide a tangible barometer of the Anfield club’s staying power in the title race when they take on the Citizens.
He said: “You have all these aspirations, dreams, goals before the season and you want to compete until the very end in every competition we are in.
“That is definitely the case at the beginning of the season and then you grow into a season. It’s November and there is still so much to play for. It’s going well.
“If we had not got a result against Brentford, we would have been in that ‘downward spiral’ – from the outside world, of course – because you don’t set it up nicely for the game after the international break.
“But we finished on a positive feeling and now it is time to focus on something else and then we focus back on here.
“Overall this season we have been doing well but the season is not decided in November and there could be so many twists and turns, we all know that.
“Sunday was a big one for many reasons, we did that well and when we come back there is a very big one away. We will see if we are ready for that test.”