Brendan Rodgers has played down the notion of a dugout battle with former Liverpool colleague Steven Gerrard ahead of Sunday's Old Firm clash between Celtic and Rangers.

The Hoops boss is unbeaten in his 11 fixtures against their bitter rivals since he took over at Parkhead in 2016.

Gerrard, who played under Rodgers at Anfield, is unbeaten in his first 11 games as Gers manager and will be the fourth Ibrox boss to battle the Northern Irishman after Mark Warburton, Pedro Caixinha and Graeme Murty.

"I am looking forward to seeing Steven," Rodgers told the official Celtic website on Tuesday. "He is a good guy, we worked well together at Liverpool. I don't necessarily see it as a dugout battle, I see it as the teams on the field.

"Whatever coach or manager is there at the time, it is irrespective to me. It is about looking at them and how they play and preparing the team in order to win the game. That's what I have tried to do in the 11 games against Rangers in my two years here.

"So that's the focus really. Try to analyse them the best we can. There is no doubt Steven has made a difference to them and made a change to them, a positive change. No matter the form, they are always tough games so our notion after Thursday will be to focus on that and be ready for it."

Celtic host FK Suduva on Thursday night, with the Europa League playoff tie evenly poised 1-1 on aggregate.