Graeme Souness delivers his verdict ahead of Celtic and Rangers clash

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Rangers and Celtic are set to meet at Parkhead in the first Old Firm clash of the season.

Graeme Souness believes the team that stays more focused will succeed in the first Old Firm clash of the season at the weekend, as Rangers travel to bitter rivals Celtic on Sunday.

There is an underlying subplot to the game, with Gers boss Steven Gerrard in direct competition against his former manager Brendan Rodgers in the opposite dugout.

Rodgers has won back-to-back domestic trebles during his first two years in Scottish football and his Celtic side are the dominant force in the country right now.

But the Light Blues have a spring in their step under new manager Gerrard and will be hoping to lay down a marker at Parkhead to strengthen their own title credentials.

Ex-Rangers manager Souness believes that Gerrard will have a good understanding of what to expect from Celtic, whereas Rodgers may be left second guessing over the fairly unknown Gerrard.

“Brendan Rodgers has stood in the middle of the dressing room and spoke many times, and Steven has been there listening to him so he’ll know how his thoughts are on football,” Souness told Sky Sports.

“I think there is a bit of mystery around Steven on how he will operate, that’s something that Brendan will have to second guess.

“You can bet it will be an intense affair, it’s the team that can keep their cool and stay focused, and the ones who have got the better quality on the day generally wins the game.”

Gerrard worked under Rodgers at Liverpool and should be well aware of how he likes to play football.

Rangers are still finding their identity under Gerrard during his first role as a manager, but what is clear is that so far they have been defensively resilient and remain unbeaten in 12 games across all competitions.

Both Scottish giants successfully negotiated their Europa League qualifiers on Thursday and are in the hat for the group stages, but focus will be on a huge league fixture at the weekend.