The head coach will take charge of a Champions League match for the first time when the Reds host Atleti on Wednesday evening.
As was the case last season, Diego Simeone's side visit Anfield on matchday one of the league phase and Iraola knows how tough of an opponent they will be.
"Yes, I think obviously it's a special night for me," he said during Tuesday's pre-match press conference.
"Everyone talks [about] the Champions League nights at Anfield and also the first game is against a strong opposition, it's Atletico Madrid. Simeone is doing an incredible job as a manager. To be all the years that he has been achieving every season the goals of the club I think is remarkable and definitely it's a big challenge for us.
"I think I played against him as a player, he was still a player, and I played against his teams when he was a coach and I also coached against him. So, we had a lot of precedent before.
"Definitely he has much more experience than me in these kinds of games but I hope tomorrow we can give him a good game, yes."
Iraola discussed plenty more on the eve of the fixture at Anfield. Read our round-up from his media briefing below.
On the prospect of experiencing a Champions League night at Anfield from the home dugout and whether he has wondered what that might be like in the past…
Definitely, it's one of the dreams, probably, when you start. It was difficult for me when I started my coaching career seven, eight years ago, to position myself in the position that I am right now, and I hope I can enjoy it. It's a big responsibility, massive challenge, but I feel privileged to be there in that dugout tomorrow and now my thinking is about putting the team together in a position where we can play a good game, win the game and start strong in this Champions League.
On whether he feels he is 'up and running' as Liverpool head coach after winning his first game at Ipswich Town…
I think last Friday it was first of all about winning because we had this bad taste after two draws and we needed the win, definitely. But also I think I was encouraged because I saw very good performances from some individual players, I saw the team starting a lot stronger the game with a lot more intensity, especially in the first half, and I think it's the line that we want to continue.
On the main difference between Liverpool and Atletico's styles...
I think Atletico Madrid are a team that play very well. Always if you look at Simeone teams, they have more possession, they're starting to have more possession of the ball in that first phase. They have lots of dynamism in terms of the four attacking players, so it is difficult to tie them down at times because ultimately, there is lots of rotation between their players in offensive positions. It is not easy for their opponents and for us tomorrow.
On how he prepares for Atletico's playing style...
I think we need to play our game. We know we're facing a team that are of a very high level, as they've shown in previous seasons in the Champions League, but we need to play at our pace. We want to be proactive and start well, to pressure our opponents early on in the game. In the way we played on Friday, we started very strong, we wanted to score that first goal, but obviously you have an opponent in front of you that is very good and that's what we face tomorrow.
On how much of a test of his coaching credentials the Champions League will be...
I think it's a Champions League game, it's the first game against probably one of the strongest opposition that we are going to face, but at the end it's football. We play against very good teams also in the Premier League. I think I kind of know quite well Atletico Madrid, some of their players. It's going to be a big test - but it was going to even if I wasn't the manager [because] it's the first game in the Champions League against another big club. It's a great game to play, it's a massive test for the team overall and I think it will show us a little bit also where we are. We showed last Friday good signs and now let's see against a team like Atletico Madrid where we are.
On whether he plans to rotate his line-up in the coming months...
I will not tell you the starting line-up! You are asking me if I am going to do a lot of changes or not, but still my players don't know the line-up so I will definitely not tell you. I have to consider that we have more games, where they are physically, but I don't think it's going to be the most difficult scenario I will find this season because we are coming from playing on Friday so we've had good days of recovery.
On Milos Kerkez…
I think Milos played really well the other day, last Friday. I think I know him very well, I know what he can achieve. He has still a big potential being very young, also a good amount of experience in the Premier League, also with his national team and he's a player that I trust, definitely. He needs to improve a lot of things like all the others, like I have to improve a lot things. But I think I'm ready to try to help him first to become a better player and I think he's in a good line. I think the other day he played really well for us.