Rangers' Alfredo Morelos needs no provoking against Celtic, says Brendan Rodgers

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Rangers' Alfredo Morelos will need no provoking when the two sides meet in this weekend's Old Firm derby, live on Sky, after Pedro Caixinha suggested Celtic will fire up the youngster.

The Hoops sit top of the Scottish Premiership table on 16 points while Rangers are third, five points off the leaders, as both sides prepare for their first derby of the season.

Much has been made of Morelos' temperament since the 21-year-old joined from HJK Helsinki in June and, with both managers predicting a fiery atmosphere on Saturday, Rodgers expects the Colombian to demonstrate his temperament.

"I don't think he needs any help with that, from what I've seen, watching the game the other night against Partick," Rodgers said.

"We really concentrate on ourselves.

"I think he's a young boy who has come into the country and he's started his campaign well.

"He's got some goals, he is only 21, and he wants to score goals.

"Sometimes when you're young, you can get fired up.

"We always respect the other team and we focus very much on ourselves to get a good performance and a result."

Rodgers revealed he expects to come up against a revamped Rangers side and praised Caixinha for signings he has made since joining the Gers in April.

"Rangers are obviously a different team with lots of new players and I am sure Pedro will be looking to them to obviously get the first feel of this game and hopefully play as well as they possibly can," he said.

"I do expect it to be different, there are obviously different personnel. It's a different set of players so you would expect them to work a little bit differently.

"There has been a lot of change there and you have got to give the manager credit for that.

"He has obviously come in and wanted to change it. He has been backed heavily by his board to make the changes and bring in players like Bruno [Alves] who have great experience and have been around a long time."

Rodgers, whose men won five of six encounters between the sides last season, stressed the intensity of the occasion is something some players may not have experienced before.

"With all the Celtic v Rangers games I've been involved in, the atmosphere has been great in both grounds. There's always a great intensity to them, so I expect nothing to change on that front," the 44-year-old added.

"There is a noise and intensity to this game that some of the players will never have felt. It's a great experience."