Credit: Imago

Edward Bazeley

Tue 15 April 2025 10:10, UK

Rangers travel to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday for the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

Last time out against Ernesto Valverde’s men, the Gers held the La Liga side to a 0-0 draw at Ibrox despite Robin Propper’s early red card.

The Bears defended valiantly against Bilbao in Glasgow on 17 April, while Liam Kelly saved a penalty on his European debut for Barry Ferguson’s men.

Kelly proved that Ferguson’s big call to drop Jack Butland was the correct decision as he denied Alex Berenguer from 12 yards.

Rangers set for Europa League exit

The Light Blues put in a heroic performance to avoid defeat against Bilbao last week despite their numerical disadvantage and can take plenty of confidence from that.

However, Opta’s supercomputer has predicted that the Gers will lose in Spain on 17 April, handing Ferguson’s men a mere 14.3 per cent chance of beating Valverde’s side on away soil.

The supercomputer has handed Bilbao a 68 per cent chance of beating Rangers, while a draw stands at a probability of 17.7 per cent.

Rangers will believe they can reach the Europa League semi-finals

Bilbao will fancy their chances of getting the better of the Gers on home soil this time around, and boast dangerous attacking players such as Spain ace Nico Williams and brother Inaki, who did pick up a small injury over the weekend.

But in their remarkable Europa League run this term, which has come alongside a backdrop of a poor domestic season, the Bears have proven their ability to defy expectations and have shown plenty of character.

The Ibrox faithful must have feared the worst when they were reduced to 10 men in just the 13th minute on 10 April thanks to Propper’s red card.

But, Ferguson’s men stood firm and worked incredibly hard to play out a stalemate with Valverde’s side.

If Rangers can put in another top performance on Thursday 17 April, and keep 11 men on the pitch, there is no reason why they cannot see themselves through to the semi-finals.