Scottish Cup Quarter Finals Preview: Potential for More Giant-Killings | OneFootball

The race for the oldest national trophy in soccer is heating up, with just eight clubs in with a chance of lifting the Scottish Cup.

Rangers were the giant-killing victims in the previous round

The tournament has already delivered some memorable moments this season. Without a doubt, the greatest match came in the fifth round as Rangers were embarrassed by Queen’s Park, a team who won their last major trophy in 1893.

No surrender is the cry the Rangers supporters often chant. However, the team probably saw their opponents had the word ‘Queen’ in their name and decided to roll over to them.

After all, they do have an unhealthy and slightly disturbing obsession with the British monarchy, which goes as far as having King Charles’ portrait framed in the Ibrox home dressing room. Imagine getting changed while an old man is staring at you! It’s a bit of a grim thought, but enough of that because just like the infamous 2012 liquidation, Rangers are down and out.

Celtic v Hibernian is going to be a massive game

Looking ahead to this weekend, Celtic v Hibernian is definitely going to be the standout tie. A key reason is because 7000 Hibs supporters will be at Celtic Park, the largest away following the country has seen in years.

So expect a lot of noise and a celebration of all things Scottish… well except for the fact half the songs you’ll hear will probably be about Irish paramilitary organizations. It’s a strange old game when one minute the Celtic supporters are singing that Jota’s on the wing and moments later they’re singing about a hunger strike.

Then there’s the pro-Palestinian sentiment which has united Celtic and Hibernian’s ultras groups. It’s a bit like the Superbowl in Scotland. You have the sport that people are there to see, but as the NFL championship game is often less talked about than the half-time show, the main story is Scotland is often about the latest political display in the stands.

Still, the stakes are high on the pitch. Hibernian pulled off a surprising 2-1 victory over Celtic a couple of weeks ago. Their win was dependent on an incorrect VAR decision when the man upstairs decided to make up that the ball had gone out of play before the Bhoys scored an equaliser, but a win’s a win.

Celtic came close to stunning Bayern Munich in the Champions League just days before the fixture. However, they have already lost double the number of matches in the current calendar year compared with the previous one. The home side will still be strong favourites, but Hibernian certainly have a chance.

Queen’s Park and others feature in some more interesting Scottish Cup ties

Aberdeen v Queen’s Park is surely the next biggest game of the round. The mid-table Championship team have already committed one giant killing act and now they are looking to make it two.

Many will remember two years ago when Aberdeen were knocked out by sixth tier Darvel, so there’s a recent history of them being utterly humiliated in the competition. Also, the Dons have never really looked the same since they were obliterated 6-0 by Celtic in the League Cup semi-final. Their days of challenging for the league title already seem a distant memory.

Another interesting tie is Livingston v St Johnstone, a team in the Championship promotion play-offs against the side who sit rock bottom of the Premiership. Livingston are unbeaten in their past 11 matches in all competitions, while St Johnstone have recently picked up a few wins. It’s one of those games that could go either way and definitely one to keep an eye on.

The main negatives are that Livingston play on an artificial surface which looks terrible and as well as this, they only have about 10 supporters. Plus there are still plenty of away tickets on sale so the ground is going to be mostly empty. Let’s hope the faithful few compensate for the absentees and bring the noise!

The other Scottish Cup match

They say you should save the best until last and that is what the tournament officials have done, but we haven’t. The first fixture of the weekend and probably the least interesting one is Hearts v Dundee, a battle between two bottom half Premiership teams.

Despite a defeat to Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby, Hearts have been in relatively good form. Dundee on the other hand haven’t won a game since the Scottish Cup fifth round. Also, Hearts smashed them 6-0 in their own backyard the last time the two teams met. If this is anything other than a Hearts win it will be surprising.

So there we have it, four fixtures each with at least some potential for an upset. This is a weekend of soccer well worth watching!