The eagerly-anticipated Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup Fourth Round weekend begins on Friday evening as Brechin City host eight-time Scottish Cup winners Hearts at Glebe Park in front of the BBC Scotland cameras.
It is the first meeting between the two sides since 1992, when Hearts triumphed in the League Cup. Hearts' did not have the same success in their most recent Scottish Cup tie against Highland League opposition though, as they famously lost 2-1 to Brora Rangers at Dudgeon Park in 2021, to fall to their first defeat to non-league opposition in over a century.
Saturday sees 11 ties kick off in the traditional 3pm slot, with Elgin City's tie with Aberdeen among the most interesting on paper. Elgin currently sit 3rd in League Two, with Aberdeen 4th in the Premiership, although the Dons are currently on an 12 game winless run since their 4-1 victory over Dundee at the start of November.
This is the first competitive meeting between the two sides since they met in the Scottish Cup back in 1970/71, when the Dons won 5-0 at Pittodrie. Aberdeen enjoyed two wins over League Two sides - Clyde and Bonnyrigg Rose - in last season's competition and they will be hoping that the cup can provide some relief as they look to end their winless run.
Another intriguing tie is Hibernian's match against sixth tier Clydebank at Easter Road. It is the first meeting between the sides since the Bankies reformed in 2003 and they have won two of their four matches against SPFL opposition since then - notably knocking out Clyde and Elgin City in the 2021/2022 season. They top the West of Scotland Premier League as they bid for promotion to the Lowland League, while Hibs also come into the game in good form having won five of their last seven matches, drawing the other two.
League One Queen of the South face St Mirren in the Fourth Round for the second year in a row, having lost 1-0 in Paisley last year.
St Johnstone host Motherwell in the first all-Premiership tie of the weekend as they meet in a repeat of the 2010/2011 Semi-Final, in which Motherwell won 3-0. The two sides will also meet at McDiarmid Park next Saturday in the Premiership.
Musselburgh Athletic, who have been the story of the cup so far in reaching the Fourth Round for the first time in their history, face Championship side Hamilton Academical. Athletic have defeated Bo'ness United, Caledonian Braves and Darvel so far in this season's competition.
🗺️ 🏆#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/MJiNIpCkLx
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) January 16, 2025
East of Scotland League outfit Broxburn Athletic have also enjoyed a great run, seeing off Dalkeith Thistle, Auchileck Talbot and Stranraer in their run to the Fourth Round. They face Ayr United, with the two sides meeting for the first time ever.
Saturday's television match sees holders Celtic host Derek McInnes' Kilmarnock at 5:30pm at Celtic Park, live on Premier Sports. Celtic defeated Rangers 1-0 to win last season's final and manager Brendan Rodgers boasts an imperious record of 17 wins from 17 games in this competition. However, Killie are the only club to defeat Celtic in a domestic cup competition under Rodgers after beating them 1-0 at Rugby Park in last season’s League Cup.
The third television match of the weekend is at the Falkirk Stadium as Falkirk host Raith Rovers in an all-Championship affair on Premier Sports. Falkirk are two-time winners of the Scottish Cup, with Rovers reaching the final once, in 1912/1913.
BBC One Scotland will screen Rangers' match against Highland League side Fraserburgh , with a 2:15pm kick off scheduled at Ibrox. The Broch have defeated Rothes, Turriff United and Annan Athletic to reach the Fourth Round. Manager Mark Cowie and several of the players already have experience of facing the Gers with the two sides meeting at this stage in 2018. Josh Windass scored a hat-trick that day, as Rangers ran out 3-0 winners at Bellslea Park. The Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup also visited Bellslea Park this week as the latest stop on the 'Evening with the Scottish Cup' trophy tour.
The final match of the weekend sees Dundee take on Dundee United in a derby match at Dens Park on Monday. This will be the first Dundee derby in the Scottish Cup since 2012/13, when United won 2-1 at Dens Park and the Tangerines were also victors by the same scoreline at Dens two weeks ago in the league. The full fixture schedule is listed here.
There's a Dundee derby to look forward to in this weekend's Fourth Round action 🙌
— Scottish Gas Scottish Cup (@ScottishCup) January 17, 2025
📊 ⤵️#ScottishCup pic.twitter.com/h9SecoEMXW
Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup Fifth Round Draw
The draw for the Fifth Round of the Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup will take place at Dens Park on Monday night, live on Premier Sports and Premier Sports X social channel following the conclusion of the Dundee derby between Dundee and Dundee United.
Televised Scottish Cup Fourth Round matches
Friday, 17 January 2025 (Kick-off 7.45pm) - Brechin City v Heart of Midlothian | Live on BBC Scotland
Saturday, 18 January 2025 (Kick-off 5:30pm) - Celtic v Kilmarnock | Live on Premier Sports
Sunday, 19 January 2025 (Kick-off 12:00pm) - Falkirk v Raith Rovers | Live on Premier Sports
Sunday, 19 January 2025 (Kick-off 2:15pm) - Rangers v Fraserburgh |Live on BBC One Scotland
Monday, 20 January 2025 (Kick-off 8:00pm) - Dundee v Dundee United | Live on Premier Sports
Scottish Gas Men's Scottish Cup Fourth Round Draw
Brechin City v Hearts
Broxburn Athletic v Ayr United
Celtic v Kilmarnock
Cove Rangers v Forfar Athletic
Dumbarton v Airdrieonians
Dundee v Dundee United
Dunfermline Athletic v Stenhousemuir
Elgin City v Aberdeen
Falkirk v Raith Rovers
Hamilton Academical v Musselburgh Athletic
Hibernian v Clydebank
Queen of the South v St Mirren
Queen's Park v Montrose
Rangers v Fraserburgh
Ross County v Livingston
St Johnstone v Motherwell