Scottish Cup: What to look out for in last four & how to follow

In a heavyweight Hampden weekend matchup between Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers, and Hearts, four Scottish Cup semi-finalists will narrow down to just two by Sunday night.

Here’s all the information you need to know about both ties, from one manager hoping to keep a perfect win percentage to another hoping to prevent a season finale meltdown.

Is Aberdeen able to break Rodgers’ winning streak?

Even though the season hasn’t been great, Aberdeen will make their third appearance at Hampden on Saturday.

In November, the Dons defeated Hibernian in their League Cup semi-final, and in December, they barely lost to Rangers in the final.

Under Barry Robson, that was. Since then, Robson has resigned, Neil Warnock took over as interim manager but left a month later, and now Peter Leven is back in command, holding down the fort until Jimmy Thelin returns.

Leven managed Aberdeen’s Premiership tie with Celtic in February, just before Warnock was appointed. Warnock’s last match as manager was the team’s victory over Kilmarnock in the quarterfinal.

After taking up his temporary position again last month, the 40-year-old has helped the Dons win two games, draw two, and lose one, which has somewhat stabilized the ship.

Brendan Rodgers, a multiple Scottish Cup winner, will be in the opposing dugout as Leven visits Hampden for the first time since winning the 2018–19 League Cup against Aberdeen. Leven has to overcome him to prevent the defeat column from growing.

With his team now four points clear at the top of the Premiership, the Celtic manager is targeting a domestic double. He is undefeated in the national stadium and has a 100% win percentage in 15 Scottish Cup matches.Under Rodgers’ direction, Celtic have scored 53 goals in the Scottish Cup and given up just six.

After 24 meetings, the current holders have not lost to Aberdeen in over six years.

Due to suspension, Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie will not play, but Callum McGregor, who has started the last two games as a substitute, could give Rodgers a boost.

Will risky Hearts prevent Rangers Cup from having a second chance?
Heart of Midlothian vs. Rangers in the Scottish Cup semifinal
Location: Hampden ParkDate: April 21, SundayStart time: 15:00 BST
Reportage: Listen via BBC Radio Scotland Extra, and access text commentary via the BBC Sport app and website. BBC Scotland’s sportscene highlights start at 19:15.

For Rangers, a vacation from the Premiership grind might not be entirely detrimental.

After displaying remarkable resilience to get a draw at home against Celtic, the Ibrox team dropped points with their first-ever loss to Ross County and exacerbated that loss with a drab share of the spoils at Dundee.

Rangers haven’t lost three straight league games since March 2019.

Hearts were destroyed in the final four, and the League Cup is already in the Ibrox trophy room.

Rangers won the 2022 Scottish Cup final, with Hearts as the opponent.

For their third league victory over the Edinburgh squad this season, Rangers also thrashed the men in maroon, winning 5-0 in late February.

Hearts had gone 12 games without a loss before that crushing at Ibrox, and in the seven games that followed, there had only been one more setback.

The fact that Hearts have triumphed over Celtic in their last two games should allay any concerns about their lack of skill, even though Hearts’ last victory against Rangers came in this tournament in February 2020.

With 28 goals to his name, Lawrence Shankland is still putting goals in, and Steven Naismith, the manager, has the luxury of resting and rotating with this match in mind thanks to the team’s comfortable third-place finish in the Premiership.

Craig Gordon will start for Hampden, as Naismith has already stated, albeit the seasoned goalie did appear a little rusty in his comeback game against Livingston.

The key concern for the Rangers is whether Mohamed Diomande will be ready following his thumb surgery. The last two outings have been greatly missed with his absence.

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