Schalke Vs. Athletic Bilbao: Where To Watch, Preview, Team News, Prediction

When and Where: The Europa League quarter-final first-leg kicks off at 3.05 p.m. ET on Thursday. Live coverage will be on GolTV.

Preview: They may have earned huge plaudits for the stylish way in which they reaped havoc over Manchester United in the last round, but Bilbao have struggled to maintain that form of late in La Liga.

Since their first-leg triumph at Old Trafford, Marcelo Bielsa's men lost three on the bounce before gaining a point against lowly Sporting Gijon at the weekend.

Those results have meant Bilbao slipping down to 11th place in La Liga and makes a return to European competition next season seem increasingly unlikely. But, spurned on by the memories have how thoroughly they took apart last year's Champions League finalists in the round-of-16, Bilbao will know that they have the opportunity to go all the way in the Europa League this season.

Against Manchester United we managed to keep a very strong attack quiet so why shouldn't we do that again? said Bielsa, according to Schalke's official website.

What's important is that we don't walk straight into a trap. We have to avoid that at all costs!

The attack Bielsa is referring to is will not be easy to silence, though. The Germans' forward line is led by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, having the best season of his career, who has already hit 13 goals in the Europa League this campaign to add to his 27 domestically.

And supporting the Dutchman is veteran Spanish great Raul, who has weighed in with his 15 goals of his own during the campaign.

On a four-match winning run, Schalke currently sit in third spot in the Bundesliga and look good for a return to the Champions League next season, where they reached the semi-finals in 2011.

Team News: Schalke have no new injury worries ahead of the first-leg with Bilbao. Boss Huub Stevens has named an unchanged lineup for the team's last three matches. And with all of them resulting in wins there is little suggestion of there being significant tinkering with the side.

U.S. international Jermaine Jones should line up in a holding midfield role alongside German international Lewis Holtby.

With no major injuries either, there aren't expected to be any major surprises in Bilbao's lineup, with Javi Martinez able to operate in his natural position in the center of midfield. Bielsa will once again be hoping for some magic from the likes of Fernando Llorente and Iker Munian, who excelled against United.

Prediction: Schalke are undefeated at home in Europe this season and have also racked-up an impressice record at the Veltins Arena in the Bundesliga.

As they showed in the last round, on their day Bilbao can be more than a match for almost any side. Similar to Bilbao's games with Manchester United, this tie should feature plenty of goals, but expect Schalke to take a lead with them to the San Mames next week.

Schalke 2-1 Athletic Bilbao