Pathetic Bilbao, otherwise known as the Matalan Catalans, will go out of Europe by losing to Rangers in the Basque country next Thursday night.
And, by virtue of their obvious ineptitude, forfeit the chance to contest the Europa League final inside their own stadium next month.
Celtic, who could be crowned Premiership champions for the fourth time in a row if Rangers should lose to Aberdeen at Pittodrie, run the risk of possibly winning the Treble for a world record-breaking ninth time and being the runners-up in the story of the season competition.
In a season in which Rangers have suffered the worst result in their history, losing to Queens Park in the Scottish Cup, and assembled the longest run of home defeats since the club began 153 years ago, the chances are Barry Ferguson will bring a European trophy to Ibrox.
I was laughed at for saying Rangers, in the midst of a domestic season that diminished their reputation, would make the Europa League final at the end of a season which began when they couldn’t make a shipment of building materials turn up on time to renovate a stand.
But some things are bigger than all of us, and fate is one of them.
Rangers progress in Europe looks to be pre-ordained because it has nothing to do with the reality of the situation, which is that Ferguson was put in interim charge because Philippe Clement was running the team, and the club, into the ground.
Now Barry’s presiding over what looks like a case of unexplained phenomena that passes beyond human understanding.
In Scottish football’s wonderful world of spite, malice and mis-trust, Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin’s personal approval rating will soar this afternoon if he beats Rangers and hands Celtic the title on a plate.
The championship’s got nothing to do with Aberdeen, but to deprive someone else of getting something you have no chance of getting for yourself is a source of deep satisfaction.
Especially in the context of the forty year feud which has existed between the clubs and their supporters.
It’s the way we are.
Similarly, if Rangers were to win at Pittodrie, and deny, on a temporary basis, their greatest rivals something they couldn’t win on their own merit, it would be a source of immense pride for Ferguson and his players.
Equal in size to the relief the Celtic fans would feel if my prediction of defeat for the Matalan Catalans next Thursday proved to be characteristically flawed and Rangers went out of Europe instead of them.
Like I say, it’s the way we are.
Ferguson has the comfort of knowing his side could lose today but the blow would be considerably softened by the knowledge that the prospect of winning a European trophy is still on.
Barry said in his post-match press conference on Thursday night that his opponents were a “Quality team.”
I would beg to differ.
A quality team wouldn’t fail to beat a seriously weakened team denied two players, John Souttar and Mohamed Diomande, through suspension and then reduced to ten men for almost all of the time played because of a red card shown to Robin Propper.
And they wouldn’t miss a match-winning penalty at the end of the ground which housed thousands of their own fans.
The Matalan Catalans bottled it against a Rangers team who, five days earlier, had put in what has come to be recognised as a typically impoverished, error strewn performance to suffer their fifth defeat in a row at Ibrox.
How else do you explain the team directly behind Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletico Madrid in La Liga failing to make it six losses in succession other than being troubled by a collective character defect?
The uptake on tickets already released by UEFA for seats at the Europa League final would, I imagine, have been significantly high among Rangers’ supporters on Friday morning.
They might not believe what they’re seeing in Europe, but the fans have factual evidence that it is happening.
Now the Celtic fans have to brace themselves for another test of their patience and tolerance levels on Thursday night.
They have mocked and made fun of Rangers all season long.
Now the punchline threatens to be different from the one they were expecting and they need Pathetic Bilbao to undergo a transformation.
Will it be Catalonia or Matalonia in the return leg of the quarter final tie?