The consensus is that Rangers will be up against it over two legs against Athletic Club even if Thursday nights can produce some strange results.
This Rangers squad hasn’t looked out of place playing against teams from the top five leagues already and will be hoping to take something to Spain for the second leg.
The Europa League has made Rangers a lot of money already and the San Francisco 49ers will be hoping that the run continues just a little bit longer.
Barry Ferguson outsmarted Jose Mourinho but, after the defeat to Hibs, the interim boss hinted at changes to personnel and tactics.
Someone with a good idea of what Rangers‘ chances are is Ewan Urain, the former Scotland youth international who lined up for Athletic Club’s B team before dropping down the leagues in Spain.
- READ MORE: Five things we noticed from Rangers training ahead of Europa League visit of Athletic Club
Former Athletic Club Scot gives Rangers chances verdict
Unfortunately, Urain isn’t too hopeful for the Ibrox outfit when it comes to taking on the La Liga side:
“I have cousins who are Rangers fans, but all my family here will be supporting Athletic,” Urain told the Glasgow Times.
“Based on their strength, I think Athletic has the advantage.
“But I would also point out that Rangers have more European experience than Athletic and nerves could be a factor.
“However, I think Athletic is the favourite, without a doubt.
“Rangers have no chance of winning the league, and they’ll be focused on the Europa League, which is an opportunity to win a title.
“But I know they are on a bad run at home at the moment.
“Once you get into a bad habit of losing at home, it can be a huge factor and give Athletic an advantage.
“Also, I think with the second leg being at San Mames, that’s always a very positive thing for Athletic.
“We know what we have there and as they say, we’re playing with an extra player – they can beat anyone there.”
Athletic Club might have finished second in the Europa League league phase, however, they did so having not played an opponent who finished in the top 10.
Rangers, on the other hand, had to play five of the eventual top eight who progressed to the last 16 automatically.
What did Jose Mourinho say about Rangers’ chances?
If Rangers win over Fenerbahce was a surprise, so was Athletic’s win over Roma, so there isn’t much to choose between the two sides – if domestic football is ignored.
Jose Mourinho, giving his verdict on Rangers’ chances, isn’t so sure though:
“In my opinion, I want to be respectful you know,” the Special One explained. “I want to respect the guys, I want to respect the coach, I want to respect the fans.
“In football, anything is possible. But, I played against Bilbao in the league phase, and Bilbao is a stronger team.
“And the final is in Bilbao. The road to Bilbao.
“I don’t know what happened today with Roma, I just know that after 10 minutes, Roma were playing with 10 men.
“So, honestly, I think if Rangers do it against Bilbao, it would be phenomenal because it’s going to be very hard.”
