March was an enjoyable month for Rangers overall as they beat Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce on penalties, following a 3-3 aggregate draw, to progress from the last 16 of the Europa League, before winning back-to-back Scottish Premiership games against rivals Celtic and Dundee.

A 3-2 Old Firm triumph at Celtic Park was followed by a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory away against Dundee - a game in which they were trailing 3-1 with just 15 minutes remaining - but Barry Ferguson's men were unable to kick-start April with a win as they suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Hibernian last weekend.

The Gers have now lost each of their last five home matches in 90 minutes across all competitions - including the 2-0 second-leg loss to Fenerbahce before winning the aforementioned tie on penalties - and the defeat to Hibs represents their seventh in the Scottish Premiership this season, leaving them 13 points behind champions-elect Celtic, who also lost last time out and can clinch the title in just a few weeks' time.

Rangers are now preparing for their 13th major European quarter-final - their first since the 2021-22 Europa League clash with Braga - and they head into Thursday's contest having failed to win the first leg in any of their last five such ties.

However, the last time that the Glaswegian giants did win a quarter-final first leg was against none other than Athletic Bilbao at Ibrox in the 1968-69 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, winning 4-1 on home soil before losing the second leg 2-0 in Spain but still progressing 4-3 on aggregate.

After finishing second in the 36-team Europa League table, Athletic Bilbao overcame a 2-1 first-leg deficit to beat Roma 3-1 in the reverse fixture on home soil last month to progress from the last 16 4-3 on aggregate.

Ernesto Valverde's men have put together a five-game unbeaten run in all competitions since losing that first leg to Roma, but they have played out three La Liga draws in that time, most recently picking up two points across back-to-back 0-0 draws with Osasuna and Villarreal.

Despite winning only one of their last five Spanish top-flight matches, Athletic remain fourth in the table and have a strong chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League as they sit six points clear of Villarreal in fifth, although the Yellow Submarine do have a game in hand.

Winning the Europa League for the first time in their history would also guarantee Champions League qualification for 2025-26, and achieving a club first on Thursday would help the Basque-based outfit move one step closer to glory.

Competing in a major European quarter-final for the first time since 2015-16, Athletic have lost both of their last two visits to Scotland, losing 1-0 at Dunfermline back in 1965 and 4-1 to Rangers - as mentioned previously - in 1969, both in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Rangers possible starting lineup:

Butland; Tavernier, Propper, Balogun; Sterling, Barron, Raskin, Jefte; Bajrami, Cerny; Dessers

Athletic Bilbao possible starting lineup:

Simon; Gorosabel, Paredes, Vivian, Boiro; Prados, Jauregizar; I. Williams, Sancet, N. Williams; Guruzeta