John Souttar replacement 'all but confirmed' in Rangers starting XI v Athletic

Rangers will face Athletic Club at Ibrox on Thursday, and Barry Ferguson will be without John Souttar for the tie.

Ernesto Valverde's team will travel to Glasgow on 10 April for the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals.

Ferguson's team are coming off a 2-0 loss to Hibernian, making it five defeats in a row at home for the Light Blues.

Athletic have been one of the best teams in La Liga this season, and the Gers will evidently need their best players available to get a positive result.

Rangers replacement for Souttar obvious v Athletic

Souttar won't feature at Ibrox on Thursday as the centre-back is suspended for the tie after picking up his third yellow card of the competition against Fenerbahce.

Dujon Sterling started alongside the Scotland international in the loss to Hibernian, with Ferguson reverting to a back four.

The interim manager should play five defenders again, with James Tavernier slotting at centre-back as Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte play on the wings.

That leaves room for one of Leon Balogun and Robin Propper to replace Souttar against the Spanish outfit, but it looks like the Nigerian ace has all but confirmed his selection in the pre-match press conference.

Speaking on the Gers' X (9 April), Balogun said: "I'm excited to play against world-class attacking players, this is the mindset you need. We are in a quarter-final and we have to focus on this, it is a massive opportunity for the players and for the club."

Ferguson has challenging test against Athletic at Ibrox

Ferguson will also be without Mohamed Diomande, and it'll be interesting to see the starting lineup the interim manager goes with against Athletic.

The Europa League is the only competition the Gers have something left to play for as they sit 13 points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

Balogun's selection would make sense over Propper, as the former Twente centre-back has been unreliable with his defending this season.

Rangers arguably won't be the favourites as they face one of the best teams in Spain, but the hosts have shown their quality in Europe this season.

While the Light Blues have struggled for consistency domestically in the current campaign, they always seem to show up for the big games.

The Ibrox faithful will hope the Bears put their best foot forward against Athletic and make things easier for themselves before the second leg in Bilbao.

A backline of Tavernier, Balogun and Sterling, with Yilmaz and Jefte out wide, makes the most sense for the Glaswegian outfit.