Thomas Tuchel has played down the billing of Thursday night's game between Liverpool and Chelsea as a clash between himself and Jurgen Klopp.
The two Germans meet in the Premier League for the first time at Anfield on Thursday after Tuchel was appointed as Frank Lampard's successor at Stamford Bridge in January.
Tuchel is looking forward to facing Klopp but, speaking to Football.London, said it cannot be a case of the two managers solely going up against each other.
He said: "Of course there are coaches at the moment in the Premier League, you enter the competition with the best clubs and coaches in the world and one of them is Jurgen clearly, he has proven that.
"It is a challenge for me to play against him and his teams but we will not meet up for a tennis match, we will play with our teams and we have to be prepared.
"Jurgen has proved to be outstanding, he transforms any club into a unit. He is a big, big part of the clubs."
He added: "This is the challenge, this is the benchmark in terms of league wise and of course in Liverpool at Anfield, we are absolutely aware of this that we step into the biggest challenge.
"The best players play here and we have to face teams with the best managers. I am pretty relaxed about all the comparisons, if there are, between Jurgen and me."
Tuchel has followed in Klopp's footsteps previously in his career, succeeding Klopp as manager of both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.
Yet the 47-year-old said people would be surprised by how little he knows of Klopp, revealing that, whilst the duo know each other and get on well together, they are not close friends, having not spent a long period of time in each other's company.
He said: "Of course we know each other but not as good as everybody expects.
"We never met in Mainz and then I was his successor in Dortmund so naturally, did not meet.
"Of course we meet when there is a farewell game for a player in Mainz, it is a lot of fun to talk to him. We meet at coaches meetings, UEFA meetings and we use the time to have lunch or dinner together. He is super nice to talk to and a very interesting man.
"But it is not as close as it might seem."
