Athletic Bilbao at odds with big Rangers claim as Ernesto Valverde reveals 3 players he is worried about

Bilbao currently sit fourth in LaLiga and with the final of the Europa League to be played at their San Mames stadium, there is growing belief across the club’s Basque support that they could win on home soil.

They take on a Rangers side who are on a five-game losing run at home and struggling domestically, but Valverde says he is well aware of the dangers Barry Ferguson’s side possesses.

“Rangers, I view that as something extraordinary, the run of losses,” Valverde said. “Never happened before. I watched Rangers v Hibs [a 2-0 defeat at the weekend], they had more chances didn’t make the most of them. Rangers are a good team at home. Lets see what Rangers show up tomorrow.”

When asked what worries him the most about Rangers, Valverde continued: “They’ve got a good team. Move well across the pitch, very fast. A lot of modes of play. Hit us on counter attacks. Players like [Cyriel] Dessers, [Vaclav] Cerny who can play well, and [Nicolas] Raskin. They can compete with any team and only three years since reached the final. It is big challenge playing in a stadium like this in the quarter-final.”

In his pre-match press conference, Ferguson claimed that Bilbao are on of the favourites to win the Europa League, and Valverde countered: “Rangers are one of the toughest teams in the competition for me. There are arguments they could be favourites. It’s a knock-out competition.

“They have various ways of playing. Every team has a way of managing key moments. Of course they’ll try and dominate the game. When they press high they have a lot of aggression (as shown against Celtic) I am expecting the best version of Rangers tomorrow.

“It would be good to win here. We’ve come to try and win the game. Tomorrow is a huge test for us. They’ll want the defeat they had on Saturday off their backs. We have to be competitive to get a good result. Of course I would like to win.

Bilbao defender Aitor Paredes added: “I don’t like it when people talk about favourites. We’re a good team, Rangers are a good team, we have a lot of respect for them You never have an easy game in Europe. I don’t think we can say we’re favourites. The pitch is where everything is decided.

“They can hit us on the counter, have some good players. At this level you can get punished at any moment.”