A city derby has seldom felt so personalised. From the moment Steven Gerrard was appointed as Rangers manager, his duel with Brendan Rodgers was a source of fascination. On Sunday, Celtic versus Rangers, to all intents and purposes, becomes Rodgers versus Gerrard. Brendan versus Stevie G.

The true dynamic of the relationship between this pair, as manager and captain at Liverpool, has never been fully explained. Snippets from Gerrard’s autobiography suggest friction, but perhaps occasional friction is inevitable given the environment. Gerrard was by far the more significant figure at Liverpool but a player whose exit coincided with Rodgers’ spell in charge.

Amid a ferocious atmosphere in Glasgow’s east end, the two will be professionally reacquainted. “I think everybody wants there to be a problem,” says Gerrard. “I think they want a UFC match on the side. There’s no problem, it [our relationship] is fine.

“I know a lot about him and his tactics. I know how he wants to play but Brendan is a clever coach and always has something up his sleeve. The reason why I respect him as a coach is that he always had something different. I think it would be very naive of me to expect what we see a lot of from the Celtic team. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tried something different to try and catch us cold. That’s what he would do as Liverpool manager.”

Experience and an obvious steeliness means Gerrard would never be intimidated by the ferocity of Glasgow’s derby. He raises an eyebrow when asked whether the rivalry between Liverpool and Everton retains its friendly billing. “It’s hatred,” says the 38-year-old. “Half of Merseyside liked me, half never have and never will. That’s life. Having been to a few Old Firm games, I knew what I was coming in to. So it hasn’t blown me away but when you’re in it, it does feel that bit warmer and intense. It’s very similar to Liverpool. The demands and the expectations are the same.

“I think to a certain extent all the rivalries are the same but because Scotland has these two huge football clubs then it does get magnified that bit more and because of the history of the two clubs and the fact they are in heavy competition. I don’t sit in my house because of it. I try to live my life as normally as I can.”

The on-field scenario here is a fascinating one. Gerrard denies any sense he has bought himself leeway by leading Rangers – by virtue of 12 unbeaten matches – back to the group phase of the Europa League, but Thursday evening’s aggregate success in Russia was an early, significant point.

Beyond the fevered excitement attached to Gerrard and Rangers, there is evidence he actually knows what he is doing. Yet, and exertions across the continent partly explain this, should Rangers lose to their oldest foes the domestic points tally would sit at five from a possible 12. In that circumstance, Rangers would already trail Celtic by four.

Celtic reached beyond all expectations when they completed a second domestic clean sweep in a row in May but the club has suddenly become fraught. Rodgers’s frustrations with his board of directors with regard to transfers had been clear even before last week when he found himself in open dispute with a key asset, Moussa Dembélé, over an exit or otherwise for the France Under‑21s striker, who eventually joined Lyon amid acrimony on Friday. That Celtic are in the Europa League is also viewed as a major comedown after back-to-back seasons in the Champions League.

“I love a challenge,” Gerrard adds. “I understand this challenge as a whole but with Brendan being up here and being successful it made the challenge tougher. It hasn’t put me off and I’ll work as hard as I can to try and upset the situation.

“I wanted to do the job no matter who was in charge of Celtic. For me it’s not about me trying to topple Brendan, it’s Rangers trying to compete with Celtic again because I don’t think they have been competitive enough over the last couple of years. My job initially is to try to close the gap and make this team competitive, not just with Celtic but also with the other top teams in the league, and try to make these fans happy again.”