Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao Predictions

Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao predictions ahead of this Europa League quarter-final clash. Rangers host Athletic Bilbao at Ibrox in the Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday night, as the Scottish side aim to gain advantage over the Spanish visitors. Read on for our free betting tips and predictions.

Europa League | Apr 10, 2025 at 5.45pm UK at Aspmyra Stadion

Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao Predictions

Can the Ibrox Roar Rattle the Basque Wall?

• Bilbao’s Ice-Cold Defence: The Spanish side are coming off three straight clean sheets, including shutouts at Villarreal and Osasuna, showing their defensive organisation is peaking.
• Ibrox Becoming a Curse: Rangers have now lost five consecutive home games, including domestic and European fixtures. The fortress is falling brick by brick.
• Scots’ Goal Drought: Ferguson’s men have failed to hit the net in four of their last five matches at home, raising questions over their creativity and composure under pressure.

Best Bet for Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao

With the lights set to dazzle over Ibrox and the Europa League quarter-finals back in town, Thursday night’s tie between Rangers and Athletic Bilbao is shaping up to be a fascinating cocktail of hope, pressure and tactical friction. On one side, Rangers, a club both bruised and stubborn, dragging their form inconsistently through this European journey, while Athletic arrive with that cool La Liga swagger, dreaming of playing the final on home soil at the legendary San Mamés. And let’s be honest – if that doesn’t add pressure, nothing does.

The Scots are coming into this one after a nervy and exhausting route through the last 16. They eventually got the better of Fenerbahce, but it took penalties and a full-blown heart attack session for fans to make it happen. That was followed by a wild 4-3 win over Dundee, which was honestly more chaos than football, before they stumbled again, losing to Hibernian at Ibrox – their fifth straight home defeat in all competitions. Things at home have not been sweet. Something in the Ibrox air is off lately.

Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao look far more settled. Sure, their domestic form hasn’t been blistering, but going unbeaten in five and knocking out Roma is not something you can do by accident. Even when they draw, they look composed. Their last three matches have all ended with clean sheets, and the likes of Nico Williams and Sancet bring a spark that Rangers might find hard to contain, especially with a makeshift backline that will be missing the suspended Souttar and Diomande.

Best Bet: Athletic Bilbao to Win

Here at BettingTips4You.com, we don’t throw a hundred ideas at you and call it expert advice. We believe in one carefully chosen selection per game – a clear, confident prediction based on solid research. This makes life simpler for punters and holds us more accountable. For this Ibrox showdown, the standout value is crystal clear: Back Athletic Bilbao to win.

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Why This Is Our Pick – Full Rationale

Let’s start with the basics: Rangers have completely lost their grip on home form. Five straight defeats at Ibrox. That’s not a dip, that’s a collapse. Even when they’ve battled bravely on the road, they’ve crumbled in Glasgow. They were outplayed by Fenerbahce at home, lost to a struggling Hibernian side, and haven’t kept a clean sheet in five attempts at Ibrox. The aura that once surrounded these European nights is flickering out.

Meanwhile, the visitors are quietly putting together a run of performances that show composure, balance and belief. They haven’t lost in five outings, have let in zero goals in their last three, and have real quality in wide areas thanks to the Williams brothers. Nico, in particular, looks like he’s on a personal mission to make his price tag explode.

The injuries to key Rangers players only tip the scales further. Souttar and Diomande being suspended leaves them with fewer options in defence and midfield, meaning more pressure on the likes of Barron and Raskin to contain a midfield that outclassed Roma just weeks ago. Robin Propper might come back into the fold, but one player doesn’t solve a systemic issue.

From a tactical viewpoint, Bilbao love to draw teams out and hit fast – and with Rangers needing a big result before heading to Spain, that will likely leave gaps for players like Sancet or Nico to exploit. Expect Bilbao to sit back, soak up what Rangers can offer, and pick their moments with intelligence.

BettingTips4You.com expert quote – Herrin Kendrick:
“When you look at how Rangers are struggling to turn Ibrox into a fortress and compare that to how disciplined and dangerous Bilbao have been, this feels like a moment where class beats chaos. Athletic Bilbao to win is not a gamble – it’s a reflection of what’s unfolding on the pitch.”

The likely scoreline? 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao. It won’t be a goal fest. The Basques are efficient, not flamboyant. With Rangers failing to score in four of their last five at home, that prediction feels like a decent shout.ndes to the starting XI only strengthens that.

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