Celtic hammered their Glasgow rivals 5-1 on two of the five occasions they notched victory last term.
The best the Ibrox side could muster was a 1-1 league draw at Parkhead, losing the other three Premiership outings and crashing out of both cups as the Hoops swept towards an Invincible treble.
Kenny Miller admitted he was embarrassed after the 5-1 league defeat at Ibrox in April.
And although Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha has rung the changes this summer, Rodgers believes recent bad memories of taking on Celtic will still be troubling his rivals.
The Hoops manager said: “It’s a new team. In fairness to Pedro, for whatever reason he’s not liked what he’s seen in the group.
“He’s gone out and been backed really well by the board to bring in players of substance and quality.
“So there’s a lot of change, but there will still be scars there. There’s no question about that.” Asked if past results affect a player’s psychology, Rodgers claimed today’s opponents would not be human if they didn’t have flashbacks to last season.
He added: “If you’ve played six games and beaten an opponent five times and drawn one and been really convincing in a number of those games then it’s hard not to feel something. It’s only natural. Players are only human. In that type of scenario after the third or fourth game there’s a feeling.”
Caixinha is under pressure to find a way to halt Celtic having been widely criticised for following up a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat last April with an even worse showing in an Ibrox league game the same month.
But Rodgers admires Caixinha for trying to make Rangers better by doing things his way rather than change his football principles.
The Northern Irishman said: “What is pretty clear is that he is going with his vision, and that’s all you can ever do as a coach or a manager.
“They have good players – Graham Dorrans in midfield, Ryan Jack’s got experience of the league. The young boy up front looks energetic. He looks like he can get a goal in the box.
“Then you’ve still got one or two other players beginning to find their feet, boys like Josh Windass.”
Last season Rangers were the noisy neighbours – talking about going for the club’s 55th league title and marketing the dream.
But Celtic finished 39 points ahead of them and Rodgers senses the build-up to this season’s Ibrox challenge has been notably more low-key.
He added: “Whatever the noise comes out, that’s up to them. Our focus has purely been on Celtic.”
Skipper Scott Brown will be at the heart of everything Celtic do today – and Rodgers insists he couldn’t have a better leader.
He added: “Any big game, he’s ready for it. He’s shown that over his career and in my time here. He has grabbed games by the scruff of the neck – and that’s what big players do.
“For years he’s been talked about as a player who growls and snaps but there’s his level of possession, how he takes the ball and makes passes – he’s tactically very good. He’s top-class.”