Comments and predictions for Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers: Home team wins hard

Latest Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers squad information

Athletic Bilbao are concerned about the fitness of striker Inaki Williams, who suffered a muscle injury late in last weekend's win over Rayo Vallecano. Left-back Yuri Berchiche is still out with a calf strain.

If Inaki is unable to play, his younger brother Nico Williams is likely to start on the right wing and Alex Berenguer continues on the left. In the attacking midfield position, Oihan Sancet could replace Unai Gomez, while Maroan Sannadi and Gorka Guruzeta are competing for the striker's place.

Goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala, a regular starter in the Europa League this season, is likely to return to replace Unai Simon, while the defence could welcome back Oscar de Marcos, Yeray Alvarez and Inigo Lekue.

For Rangers, Dujon Sterling (heel) and Neraysho Kasanwirjo (knee) remain absent through injury, while Robin Propper is suspended following his red card in the first leg.

However, they will have John Souttar and Mohamed Diomande back from suspension, with Souttar expected to replace Propper in a centre-back trio alongside James Tavernier and Leon Balogun.

Goalkeeper Jack Butland has been dropped from the starting line-up for the last two games due to poor form and could continue to be on the bench, while Kelly is likely to retain his starting spot.

Nicolas Raskin and Connor Barron could continue to anchor the midfield, while Diomande could be named in the starting line-up to partner Vaclav Cerny – Rangers' top scorer in the Europa League with six goals – to support centre-forward Cyriel Dessers.

Latest predicted lineup Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers

Athletic Bilbao:
Simon; De Marcos, Alvarez, Vivian, Lekue; De Galarreta, Jauregizar; N. Williams, Sancet, Berenguer; Guruzeta

Rangers:
Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun; Yilmaz, Barron, Raskin, Jefte; Diomande, Cerny; Dessers

Latest football commentary Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers

Despite playing for more than 80 minutes (including extra time) with an advantage of one more player, controlling the ball for more than 70% of the time and not allowing Rangers to have a single shot on target, Athletic Bilbao still could not leave Ibrox with a victory after being held to a draw by the brave home team in the first leg.

The Spanish side were favourites to travel to Glasgow and dominated the game after Robin Propper was sent off in the first half, but they were unable to overcome Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly, who brilliantly saved an 82nd-minute penalty from Alex Berenguer.

Ernesto Valverde’s side ended a run of three consecutive 0-0 draws in all competitions with a 3-1 comeback win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Sunday. Three goals in the final 30 minutes, including a brace from Oihan Sancet and one from Nico Williams – both substitutes – saw Bilbao consolidate fourth place in the table.

Athletic are in a European quarter-final for the first time since 2015-16, and they are aiming to reach the Europa League final on home soil – their first since 2012, when they lost the title to Atletico Madrid.

Bilbao are the only team to have won all five of their home games in the Europa League this season. However, they have been eliminated on each of their last five occasions after drawing the first leg of a European knockout tie. The last time they drew the first leg and still progressed was in the 1976-77 UEFA Cup semi-final against RWD Molenbeek.

Manager Barry Ferguson had reason to be proud of Rangers’ resilient performance in the first leg, especially after a run of five consecutive home defeats in all competitions. However, he also insisted that the team needed to play “precisely and precisely” if they were to overcome Bilbao in Spain.

Last weekend, Rangers were again down a man but still held on for a draw, as they trailed by two goals in the first half against Aberdeen but drew 2-2, with Ianis Hagi scoring the winner in the 96th minute.

In the Scottish Premiership, Rangers are almost playing for honor only, having trailed arch-rivals Celtic by 15 points with only five games remaining. They are also 13 points ahead of third-placed Hibernian.

The Glasgow club's entire focus is now on the Europa League, where they hope to reach the final for the second time in four years. Despite failing to win the first leg of their last six European quarter-finals, they have won the second leg of their last three such ties.

The Blues are unbeaten in their last seven away games in all competitions (W6 D1), including a 3-2 win over Real Betis in the Europa League group stage in mid-December – their first win on Spanish soil since 1962, after a run of 13 games without a win (D3 L10).

Latest Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers score prediction

Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Athletic Bilbao vs Rangersas follows:

• Sportsmole:Athletic Bilbao 2-0 Rangers

• WhoScore:Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Rangers
• Our newspaper predicts:Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Rangers

When and where to watch Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers live?

To watch live the match Athletic Bilbao vs Rangers in the Europa League taking place at 2:00 a.m. on April 18, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.