By David Herd
Rangers will attempt to reach their third European semi-final in the last 17 years on Thursday night, when they travel to Bilbao in a last-eight tie finely balanced after that backs-to-the-wall goalless draw at Ibrox last week. Being Scotland’s standard bearers in elite continental competition is nothing new this season, it is now over 20 years since any other Scottish club progressed in any European knockout match after Christmas. Bilbao represent a massive hurdle that needs overcome if we want to continue dreaming about going one better than Seville 2022, but it is by no means mission impossible.
Yes, they are going well in La Liga, sitting clear in fourth place and the “best of the rest” behind the three Spanish giants at the top. They look a good bet to claim a Champions League place via their league placing, regardless of how their Europa League campaign ends. Their only league defeat in their last 22 matches was a narrow 1-0 loss at Atletico Madrid, a stadium where many of the biggest and best teams have lost in recent years. And that run includes a home win over Real Madrid, who left the San Mames stadium in December after a 2-1 defeat. They finished the Europa league phase in second place only behind Lazio on goal difference, winning six of their eight fixtures, and they suffered their only loss after they had already secured qualification. Their squad includes those lightning quick Williams brothers on the wings, and their dugout sees the wily Ernesto Valverde in charge, a man who won La Liga twice as manager of Barcelona. With the final to be played at their stadium, they also have a burning motivation to get there as well as the ability to do so.
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On paper, a Rangers team who have failed to win 13 matches in the backwater of the SPFL, and who have endured their worst ever run of home defeats and their worst-ever Scottish Cup defeat look no match. But the popular phrase “Rangers Thursdays” exists for a reason. This is a team who have been embarrassed by Queens Park, St Mirren, Motherwell and Hibs, yet who have won in impressive style in France and in Turkey, and came within seconds of a draw at Old Trafford. Without doubt, most of the best displays seen by Rangers this season have come away from home in European competition. And that’s why the big travelling support who will invade the Basque city on Thursday will believe that this is a mission that is very possible.
It has been a rollercoaster ride since the appointment of Barry Ferguson and his temporary backroom team in February. A dire home record has sat alongside an impressive unbeaten spell away from Ibrox, with plenty goals at either end of the pitch. We have seen a Rangers team rediscover the ability to fight back from adversity and to score important late goals. That away record includes statement wins away to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce and at Parkhead, and it is mainly these glorious occasions that give us all belief for Thursday night. Both of these victories featured a team selection with three centre backs in a 3-5-2 system. But that same three at the back has been tried and abandoned on other occasions, sometimes due to performance and sometimes due to red cards. What system will we see this time, and what approach will the interim Boss likely employ in the biggest game of his managerial career?
My personal opinion is that recent injuries and suspensions have taken away the temptation to go with 3-5-2. The first leg saw us lose Robin Propper to an early red card and a suspension for the return game. Then in the closing stages, a serious injury to Dujon Sterling likely means we won’t see him again in 2025, never mind this midweek. The Sterling loss is the one that has limited our options most, he could have played either at right back / wing back or as one of the central defenders. His absence leaves us with skipper Tavernier as the only viable option for right back, it would be suicidal to risk Yilmaz on the wrong side of the pitch against the wide players Bilbao have. He played well in the first game at right back, anyway, and surely goes in there again.
If we assume Tavernier is at right back, the only three available centre backs from those who start first team games are Balogun, Souttar and Nsiala. I very much doubt the manager will want to throw the young Frenchman into this occasion so soon after his first half substitution at Kilmarnock. He did OK at Pittodrie at the weekend, but he surely will be on the bench as defensive cover if required rather than lining up at kick-off. By default, that leaves just two centre backs, with the Souttar-Balogun pairing seen by most of us as the most solid we have. If we are expecting the ball to come into our penalty box a lot, those are the two I would most want to be dealing with it.
That means we are going with a back four, and the first real decision is whether the shirt goes to Yilmaz or Jefte. A case could be made for either, and a case could also be made why neither are good enough. But one of them has to get the nod. For me, Jefte is more athletic and better with the ball at his feet. But Yilmaz played well in the first leg and got the better of his opponent more often that not. I trust the young Turk slightly more when it comes to defensive positioning and not switching off. So in my starting eleven, I’m opting for Yilmaz.
We then need to decide what kind of shape is best in front of that back four. Going by last week, and by Barry’s comments about being “not pretty” in future, I’m thinking this game will see us employ five across the middle, which goes from 4-5-1 without the ball to 4-3-3- with it. I can’t see us employing the Clement formation of two sitting midfielders and a “number ten”. Bilbao, with their excellent technical players, are certain to see a lot of the ball, we need to counter that by selecting a middle three who will cover ground, win tackles, but have the bravery and ability to keep the ball under pressure.
Raskin and Diomande pick themselves, they are without question our two best central midfielders and their styles complement each other. In most of our best results in 2025, such as the two Old Firm wins and the victory in Turkey, they were a huge reason we won. The selection issue is who sits in there with them. Assuming they are all fit, it seems to boil down to a choice between Barron, Rice and Hagi. I’m expecting to see the Romanian, on a high after his brilliant 95thminute strike in Aberdeen on Sunday, to be more in contention for the left sided midfield position. So that leaves the two young Scots. Rice did nothing wrong last week before his unfortunate injury, but has much less experience of this type of occasion. Selecting him would be more of a gamble. But I do think he has greater composure on the ball and has more potential as a footballer. Barron is the safer bet, having played his part in several away European games this season. If I had the choice, I think I’d go with Rice, who showed in his appearance at Old Trafford he is comfortable in the biggest of arenas against top quality opposition. I just feel he is likely to keep the ball better.
The two wide roles will be key to success, we will need players who can help their full back when Bilbao go forward, but who have both the energy and the ability to get forward to help the striker when possible. Cerny is nailed on as the man for the right side, as long as he is fit. He is a genuine goal threat at this level, can beat players, and also works hard. He must be in with a shout to win our Player of the Year award. On the left, we have the option of Hagi, Bajrami or maybe even the left back who doesn’t start in defence. We have seen Yilmaz play this position to good effect against Spurs, and many of us think Jefte looks well suited to playing one up on that side. But, for me, neither of them have a final pass in them, and we need more than just the negativity of trying to keep them out. My preference would be Hagi, who I think was very good in the game at Ibrox in working up and down the left. He certainly does have the ability to make a telling pass, as well as the work rate that all the outfield players will need.
That leaves the two ends of the park, where there are huge decisions to make. In goal, Liam Kelly was the hero of Ibrox last midweek and most will assume the jersey is now his. But playing your acknowledged second-best goalkeeper is always a risk in big games, we got away with it last time, will it work again? I thought Kelly was very suspect at the first Aberdeen goal on Sunday, if that had been Butland we would have heard a lot more about it. But Jack has had a horrific 2025, heroics in the Fenerbahce penalty shootout apart. His howlers have been regular and costly, he deserved to be dropped. But in the biggest match of the season, do we bring him back now he has something to prove and he knows he is no longer undroppable? This is another toss-up for me, and I’d be very tempted to err on the side of safety, and go with the guy we know is our best goalkeeper. It would be incredibly harsh on Kelly after last week, and maybe there’s a risk of destroying the confidence of two goalkeepers in doing it, but I think if I wore the brown brogues that I’d plump for Butland.
Finally, we have the lone striker role. Team selection on Sunday, and for the home leg last week, would strongly suggest that Barry sees Dessers as his main man up front. And there is no doubt he has a very good overall goals record, and he has also scored a number of terrific goals in away European games. I’m expecting to see him start, and I hope we see the Dessers who scored that wonder goal in Manchester, and who terrorised in Turkey when he came within VAR millimetres of a hat-trick. But I worry about his hold up play and ability to keep the ball against top defenders when isolated up front. And I worry that too often in matches where we are desperate for a goal, that he gets presented with a clear chance and misses it.
My view is that Igamane is quite simply a better footballer than him, and also a player more likely to score when presented with just one chance. He is more physically capable of holding off defenders, he has an infinitely better first touch and ball control, and is the man I’d want to see with the ball at his feet if a Rangers player has just their goalkeeper to beat. I’m sure he won’t start, but he’s the player I would pick at centre forward.
So, my eleven to beat Bilbao is as follows (4-5-1 / 4-3-3):
Butland
Tavernier Souttar Balogun Yilmaz
Cerny Rice Raskin Diomande Hagi
Igamane
No matter how right or wrong I am, this is an enormous night for our club, and an opportunity that many of these players will likely never have again. If we approach it with the right balance of caution and bravery, we have a night where many are at their best, and enjoy the luck that every team sometimes needs, then it could be a game that is recalled in the history books in years to come.
Fight till the day is done, Rangers, this is a game we can win.
