‘Barry Ferguson makes Liam Kelly error’ – Rangers confirmed XI v Athletic Club
Barry Ferguson has made 10 changes to his Rangers side as they face Athletic Club in the Europa League quarter-final on Thursday.
The Gers will be keen to progress in the competition a week after their hard-fought goalless draw against the LaLiga side on 10 April.
The Light Blues drew 0-0 with the Spaniards last time out, despite a red card for Robin Propper after just 13 minutes on the clock at Ibrox.
Things will be far from easy for the Govan club at San Mames Barria as they come up against the likes of Inaki and Nico Williams.
As a result, it is little surprise that Ferguson has opted to make a whole host of changes from the Aberdeen draw, but he may live to regret starting with Liam Kelly.
Ferguson gets Kelly decision wrong for Rangers v Athletic Club
It is fair to say that the draw at Pittodrie was far from good enough after falling two goals down in the first half.
This wasn’t helped by Ross McCausland’s red card after he picked up two yellow cards within the opening 40 minutes against the Dons.
Ianis Hagi did go on to score an equaliser, but the frustration of the result came after Ferguson made a whole host of changes.
As a result, it is unsurprising to see the likes of Findlay Curtis, Danilo, and Oscar Cortes drop out of the side after a disappointing outing against Jimmy Thelin’s men.
This has seen James Tavernier, Vaclav Cerny, Cyriel Dessers and Hagi come back into the starting 11, who represent a step up in quality for the Gers in the Europa League.
| Rangers players out v Athletic Club | Rangers players in v Athletic Club |
| Rafael Fernandes | Ridvan Yilmaz |
| Robbin Propper | James Tavernier |
| Clinton Nsiala | Leon Balogun |
| Ross McCausland | John Souttar |
| Findlay Curtis | Jefte |
| Connor Barron | Nico Raskin |
| Nedim Bajrami | Mohamed Diomande |
| Oscar Cortes | Ianis Hagi |
| Hamza Igamane | Vaclav Cerny |
| Danilo | Cyriel Dessers |
With that being said, the inclusion of Kelly could come as a risk with the 29-year-old conceding two against Aberdeen in a frustrating keeping performance.
The clash in Bilbao could have represented the perfect opportunity to bring Jack Butland into the fold, but Ferguson has opted against that decision.
Rangers hopeful of win v Athletic Club
It is fair to say that the season at Ibrox relies on the result against the Spanish side.
In the Scottish Premiership, Old Firm rivals Celtic have run away with the title and show no sign of relenting with just five games remaining.
This piles all the pressure on the Light Blues in the Europa League for Ferguson, who will be hopeful of making his interim role permanent.
As a result, it comes as a surprise that he would be willing to leave Butland on the bench in the Gers’ biggest game of the campaign.
The ex-England international has a point to prove and could have made his feelings known if given the chance against the LaLiga side.