The Europa League has given Rangers some respite from their domestic despair this season and Barry Ferguson will be hoping a crunch quarter-final with Athletic Bilbao will spark his side back to life.
Ferguson stepped in as interim boss after Philippe Clement was axed for some dismal results on the home front, with Gers crashing out of the Scottish Cup to second-tier Queen's Park and lagging miles behind Celtic in the title race.
It has been a mixed bag for the former skipper so far, with his side winning all their games away from home, including an impressive 3-2 derby victory at Celtic Park and a shock 3-1 triumph away to Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
But Ferguson has lost all three games at Ibrox so far and Rangers only scraped into the quarter-finals on penalties after Fenerbahce won 2-0 in Glasgow.
Clement also lost his last two at home before being axed so a defeat against Bilbao tonight would make it six in a woe for the Ibrox faithful.
Rangers have risen to the occasion on many a big Europa League night and they'll need to be at their best to see off a dangerous Athletic Bilbao side.
The Basques are hosting the final in May and are among the favourites to go all the way after finishing second in the table during the league phase and knocking Roma out in the last 16.
How the bookies view it: More Ibrox woe for Gers
Athletic Bilbao are 11/10 favourites at BoyleSports for an Ibrox win and the La Liga outfit are just 2/7 to reach the semis. Rangers are 5/2 to go through and 2/1 for a first-leg win on home soil. The draw at Ibrox pays 12/5.
Head to head: Long time no see
You have to back to 1969 for the last meeting of these sides, with that clash coming in the Fairs Cup. Rangers will be hoping it's an omen as they won 4-1 at Ibrox before going through after a 2-0 defeat at the San Mames.
Players to watch: Vac for more
Vaclav Cerny has been Rangers' biggest threat in Europe, with the Czech winger netting six times. He's 3/1 at BoyleSports for anytime scorer and that looks a bit overpriced.
Nico Williams is on the shopping list of Europe's biggest clubs and the winger will be out to put a few more millions on to his price tag. The Euro 2024 winner is 10/3 for a goal and that also looks pretty generous.
Probable line-ups
The win over Fenerbahce came at a cost for Rangers with Mohamed Diomande and John Souttar picking up cards that led to suspensions. Ferguson has also threatened to make changes after their dismal weekend defeat by Hibs.
Athletic Bilbao have problems in defence, with Yuri Berchiche and Aitor Paredes going off injured in the weekend draw with Villarreal. Fellow stopper Yeray Alvarez is also a doubt along with midfielder Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta.
Rangers: Butland, Sterling, Tavernier, Balogun, Propper, Yilmaz, Barron, Raskin, Hagi, Cerny, Igamane.
Athletic Bilbao: Agirrezabala, Lekue, Vivian, Gorosabel, De Marcos , I Williams, N Williams, Sancet, Gomez, Jauregizar, Sannadi.
Anything else catch the eye?
Athletic Bilbao's last three games have produced just one goal in total but we should see some action in this one with both teams missing key players in defence. Over 2.5 strikes pays just 4/5 at BoyleSports but combining that with BTTS boosts the odds to 23/20.
This one might take a bit of time to light up though with so much at stake so betting on most goals coming after the break appeals at evens.
Rangers skipper James Tavernier is always a threat from set-pieces and is on the penalties so he looks a bit overpriced at 41/20 with Unibet to have an effort on target.
Veteran defender Leon Balogun will be up against some top-class forwards so I like the 15/8 at Paddy Power for the Nigerian to commit over 1.5 fouls.
This UEFA Europa League match between Rangers and Athletic Bilbao will be played on and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
GambleAware