Europa League, quarter-final, first leg, Thursday, 10/04/2025 at 9:00 pm
Barry Ferguson has become a club legend of Glasgow Rangers as a player. Since the end of February, he has been taking the reins for his beloved club and will continue to do so as interim manager until the end of this season.
In seven matches under the 47-year-old, the Gers have had mixed results, celebrating four wins but also suffering three defeats.
For my Glasgow Rangers Athletic Bilbao betting tip, however, the goals scored in these encounters are more important. Hopefully there will be plenty of them again on Thursday.
For the guests from the Basque Country, this Europa League season offers a great opportunity. If the Lions survive the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, they can play the final at home in San Mames.
However, there are still some intense encounters to be fought before that can be considered, above all the duel at Ibrox Stadium.
I am betting my Glasgow Rangers Athletic Bilbao tip at Merkur Bets at odds of 1.90 for “Over 2.5 goals in the game”.
The bookmakers’ prediction
Rangers have called Ibrox Stadium home since 1899. The Light Blues were founded in 1872. To date, the top Scottish club has lifted 118 trophies.
In 2022, Rangers almost won the Europa League. In the final, the Teddy Bears lost to Eintracht Frankfurt in the most cruel way possible – on penalties.
There are still a few games to go before they have another chance of reaching the final, and the odds for the first leg already show the hosts as slight outsiders.
For a home win for Ferguson’s team, you get odds of 3.20 in the Bet365 app. The odds for the Lions from the Basque Country are lower, at around 2.15.
Rangers – Athletic Bilbao Prediction AI
For this specific encounter, my assessments and those of the artificial intelligence are not too far apart. As a shallow introduction, ChatGPT spits out a bet on “Rangers to win with handicap +1”. If you want, you can link this Winamax betting bonus to the odds of 1.66.
The middle AI prediction is exciting and fits my Glasgow Rangers Athletic Bilbao tip 100 percent. That’s why I don’t want to dive much deeper at this point and just embed the option of a odds boost in this article.
In my opinion, the last option is not absurd, but it is quite risky. You can get “Draw & Both Teams to Score” at Oddset for odds of 4.33. In this case, a free bet might be the best option for this AI tip.
Analysis: Glasgow Rangers – Athletic Bilbao
At the start of this Europa League season, the Basques recommended themselves as specialists for close encounters, getting seven points from three games with four goals scored.
However, the deeper the season has progressed, the more open the Lions have become to high-scoring matches. This has recently resulted in four consecutive Europa League matches that have included “over 2.5 goals”.
For the guests, it is likely to be about being able to play the second leg in their own stadium without the threat of defeat. The Basques have lost their last two EL away games (1:2, 1:4).
However, the hosts are much more of a safety anchor for a goal-filled game. Five of the seven matches under Barry Ferguson have exceeded the “2.5 goals” mark.
The hunger for goals has returned under the former professional from Gers. The Scots have scored at least three goals themselves in four of their previous seven competitive matches.
At home, the Scots play to win; anything else would be disastrous. In doing so, they will presumably have to rely on their offense, because under Ferguson they have yet to finish a competitive game without conceding a goal.
odds analysis
Following on from the aforementioned high-scoring games under Barry Ferguson, I want to throw the “both teams to score” bet into the pot for an alternative Glasgow Rangers Athletic Bilbao tip.
Rangers conceded at least one goal in every competitive game under Ferguson, but they also scored in six out of seven games.
If you are registered with Oddset, you can bet on “Both teams scoring” at odds of 1.72.
Ernesto Valverde and his team have pursued one goal this season: to play the Europa League final in their own stadium.
Nico Williams has made a name for himself as a leading player. He not only ties the laces of his opponents during agile dribbling maneuvers, but also scores at important moments.
In the round of 16, the Lions’ progress to the next round was on shaky ground after losing the first leg in Rome 2-1. But in the second leg, Nico Williams shouldered his team and scored two of the three goals in a 3-1 win.
The Spanish dribbling wizard has been directly involved in six goals in 10 Europa League appearances and is an important factor in the Basques’ forward line.
Away from home, Athletic Bilbao have not always been convincing in the Europa League so far and have conceded at least one goal in four of their five away appearances.
Net open, goals in, be the winner.
Seven games, four wins and three defeats with a total of 29 goals scored. You can’t blame the Glasgow Rangers under Barry Ferguson for one thing – boredom.
On average, the hosts under the former Light Blues captain have played 4.14 goals. This figure makes me extremely positive about the Glasgow Rangers Athletic Bilbao tips.
In their four victorious appearances under Ferguson, the Gers have scored three or more goals each time. The Basques’ defense can definitely count on a motivated offensive line.
The home side’s leaders include Wolfsburg-on-loan winger Vaclav Cerny, who has already scored six goals this Europa League season.
But there are other players we should have on our radar for at least one goal for the home side.
Hamza Igamame has already celebrated four goals this EL season and Cyriel Dessers scored four goals in his five previous league appearances.
My Glasgow Rangers Athletic Bilbao tip:
I expect a great game and especially at Ibrox Stadium a goal-scoring encounter with goals on both sides.
In any case, no one should forget that Bilbao have conceded “Over 1.5 goals” in two consecutive away games.
My Glasgow Rangers Athletic Bilbao betting tip: Over 2.5 goals!
