Rangers early team news v Bilbao – Ferguson reveals ‘good news’, plus Cerny update
Barry Ferguson has shared an update on the availability of six Rangers players ahead of the Athletic Bilbao clash.
The Gers travel to Spain on Thursday (17 April), looking to progress to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
The Light Blues have little to play for domestically, so success in Europe is the only chance to turn around a dismal season that led to Philippe Clement being sacked.
Rangers are certainly not the favourites to win the competition and will face a tough task and it may have been made even harder after the latest developments.
Ferguson confirms Cerny status for Rangers
The Gers will be without Robin Propper, who is suspended after his red card from the first leg, and Dujon Sterling has been ruled out for the season.
John Souttar was back on the bench against Aberdeen for the 2-2 draw (13 April) after missing the first meeting with the Spaniards and will be expected to feature given Propper’s absence.
Vaclav Cerny was also absent from the squad for the clash with the Dons but Ferguson gave a positive update on his involvement in the Bilbao contest.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference (16 April), Ferguson said: “Good news, Leon Balogun, Bailey Rice, Ridvan Yilmaz and Vaclav Cerny all trained today.
“Things are looking pretty healthy. We also have Souttar and Diomande back.”
Rangers must improve from Aberdeen display
If the Bears replicate their display from the Aberdeen clash, they will have absolutely no chance to progress.
They held Bilbao to a goalless draw despite being reduced to 10 men early on and conceding a penalty at Ibrox (10 April).
| Stats | Rangers | Bilbao |
| Possession | 29% | 71% |
| Shots | 4 | 19 |
| Shots on target | 0 | 3 |
| Big chances | 1 | 2 |
Liam Kelly produced a wonderful save to deny the Spanish outfit from the spot but the Gers need to play much better if they are to go through.
They allowed Ernesto Valverde’s side to have the majority of possession and created very little which was perhaps expected given the fact that their opposition had an extra player.
However, they must ensure that they create a lot more, especially after the referee was announced as Irfan Peljito, who awarded a controversial penalty when he last officiated the Govan club.
In the Champions League qualifying third-round clash with Union Saint-Gilloise, he sent off Conor Goldson and stuck with the decision despite the VAR replays showing the ball ricocheted off Ben Davies first.
Ferguson’s side cannot afford to allow the Bosnian to influence proceedings once again, they must do their business and not leave it to chance, otherwise they may be eliminated.