Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao prediction, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats
Scottish Premiership side Rangers will welcome Athletic Bilbao to a noisy Ibrox for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday night.
The Gers have lost five consecutive matches on home soil for the first time in the club’s history, compounding a miserable season in which rivals Celtic look set to secure a domestic treble.
Still, Barry Ferguson’s team could claim an even bigger prize, but they’ll have their work cut out for them against Ernesto Valverde’s disciplined yet deadly side.
Rangers were fortunate to make it past a Fenerbache side who squandered some massive chances in the second half at Ibrox, but they deserve major credit for making it past such a good side over two legs.
Athletic present an entirely different challenge and a much tougher one, too. Valverde is a master at setting his teams up to keep opponents at arm’s length and strike on the break,
which is an approach the Gers have struggled to contain lately.
The Spaniards beat Roma 4-3 to aggregate to reach this stage of the competition, making the most of their excellent home advantage to score three goals as they came from behind.
Travelling to San Mames for the second leg is a daunting task, considering Athletic have lost just four of 40 competitive home fixtures since the start of last season, so Rangers need to find a way to make the most of Thursday’s clash.
Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao prediction:
Despite the fact they’ve drawn back-to-back blanks in La Liga, it would be a surprise if Athletic failed to find the net at Ibrox.
They’ve scored in all 10 of their Europa League fixtures this campaign and each of their previous 18 European fixtures back to 2017.
Clean sheets have been few and far between for the Gers in Europe, conceding in 24 of 30 outings. They’ve struggled across all competitions recently, conceding in their last 10.
All of this points to at least one goal for the visitors, though they have also struggled to contain good teams on their travels.
Valverde’s side have conceded in all but one Europa League fixture away from home, and eight of their last 10 in La Liga, so we can make a compelling case for both teams to score.
A total of 12 of 16 matches produced over 2.5 goals in the previous knockout round, so we’ll boost our odds by going for both teams to score and for either side to net the all-important third goal.
Rangers team news
Rangers are down a couple of potential starters for the first leg, with John Souttar and Mohamed Diomande both suspended for yellow card accumulation.
That could force a rejig for Rangers as Davy Propper, who was rested on Saturday, returns to the starting lineup.
Other than the long-term absence of Neraysho Kasanwirjo, the Scottish side is healthy.
Dujon Sterling and Jefte will have their hands full with Athletic’s Williams brothers while also being tasked to offer wide support for Bedim Bajrami and Vaclav Cerny.
Hamza Igamane has scored some big goals recently, but 20-goal man Cyril Dessers is most likely to lead the line.
Rangers expected line-up
Butland – Tavernier, Propper, Balogun – Sterling, Barron, Raskin, Jefte – Bajrami, Cerny – Dessers
Athletic Bilbao team news
Yuri Berichiche limped off at the weekend and is expected to join Inigo Galarreta and Yuray Alvarez on the sidelines.
Aitor Paredes was also withdrawn with a knock but the expectation is he’ll recover in time to retain his place in defence.
Athletic will field an incredibly dangerous attacking trio of Inaki Williams, Oihan Sancet and Nico Williams.
They’ve produced a combined 51 goals and assists across all competitions, with Sancet scoring the lion’s share with 14.
The imposing figure of Gorka Guruzeta will look to add to his 11 goal involvements as he leads the line.
Athletic Bilbao expected line-up
Simon – Gorosabel, Paredes, Vivian, Boiro – Prados, Jauregizar – I. Williams, Sancet, N. Williams – Guruzeta
Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao: How to watch and listen
Thursday’s UEFA Europa League quarter-final between Rangers and Athletic Bilbao will be shown live on TNT Sports 2. Live commentary will be on Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland Extra.
Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao stats:
– This is the first meeting between the sides since the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, when Rangers won 4-3 on aggregate.
– Both teams to score and over 2.5 goals has been a winning bet in five of Rangers’ last seven matches and each of Athletic’s last four in Europe.
– Rangers are winless in the first leg of their previous five European quarter-finals.
– Rangers’ current five-match losing streak at Ibrox is the worst run in the club’s history.
– Rangers have conceded in their last 10 matches across all competitions.
– Athletic’s most recent meetings with a British team saw Marcelo Bielsa’s side do the double over Man United.
– Athletic have scored in each of their previous 10 Europa League matches.
