It would be a big shock if Lowland League side Broxburn were to trouble high-flying Championship side Ayr United, with 3 full divisions between these clubs in the SPFL ladder.

Broxburn have managed to build some momentum at home, where they have won 8 of their 12 league matches but they will find Ayr a massive step up even on Stranraer, the League 2 side they edged in extra-time in the previous round.

Scott Brown, the manager of the Honest Men, will have his team drilled in the importance of being professional in this match, with the former Celtic player aware of the pitfalls of treating such a tie lightly, particularly after losing to East Kilbride in the Challenge Cup back in November.

Ayr come into this match in excellent form. They have picked up 7 wins in their last 9 matches overall and have won their last couple of away games against Livingston and Dunfermline.

Moreover, Ayr have been winning matches comfortably. They have picked up 5 victories in their last 7, with 4 of these claimed by at least 2 goals. Don’t expect any let up from the in-form second-tier outfit in this game.

Cove Rangers should prove substantially too strong for Forfar in the Scottish Cup, with the price on the hosts a very good one indeed.

The Aberdeen club may not have the best home record taken over the duration of the season, but they’ve found their feet belatedly at the Balmoral Stadium. Although they have won just 3 times in the league at the venue, they have picked up 2 in their last 3 matches at home in all competitions, during which time they are undefeated.

Indeed, their loss against a Queen of the South – an excellent home team – last weekend, was their first in 5 games.

Forfar, meanwhile, are a wretched away side. They have lost 10 of their 12 road trips in all competitions this season and are only at this stage of the cup thanks to a couple of unconvincing home victories. The Loons did draw with Cove Rangers in the League Cup group stage back in July, but that was at home.

Without a win in their last 5 matches and having lost their last 5 on the road, the bottom side in League 2 are unlikely to stand much chance in this clash.

Dumbarton and Airdrie face off in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup on Saturday afternoon. Stevie Farrell’s side set up this tie thanks to a 3-2 win over Alloa, while Airdrie edged out sixth tier Dundee North End 1-0.

Airdrie have been chalked up as odds-on favourites for this encounter but they are unlikely to have things all their own way. Rhys McCabe’s side have endured a pretty miserable campaign up until this point. The Diamonds are rooted to the foot of the Scottish Championship table and are without a league win since the opening weekend of the season.

That solitary victory arrived alongside their only clean sheet in the league this term, having conceded at least once in the 19 games that have followed.

With that in mind, Dumbarton warrant support to score at least one goal on Saturday. While the Sons are also propping up their division, they have blanked in just 6 of their 20 league games this season, netting in 8 out of 10 on home turf. It’s also worth noting that Dumbarton scored 3 goals against Airdrie at this venue during a Scottish League Cup tie earlier in the season.

Hibernian will kick off their Scottish Cup campaign with a home tie against Clydebank on Saturday. The Hibees will fancy their chances of making a deep run in this competition, while West of Scotland League leaders Clydebank will be looking to pull off a famous giant killing at Easter Road.

While the Bankies cannot be underestimated, there is a clear gulf in class here and Hibs should record a fairly comfortable victory. With the home team an extremely short price to come up trumps, instead look for them to score a minimum of 3 match goals.

David Gray’s side are in a rich vein of form at the moment, avoiding defeat in each of their last 7 Scottish Premiership matches, triumphing in 5 of those tussles. Hibs’ upturn in form is made all the more impressive by the fact they have been scoring goals by the bucket load.

In fact, the capital club have delivered exactly 3 goals in 4 of their last 5 league games at Easter Road. That sample includes games against the likes of Aberdeen, Rangers and Motherwell. Thus, the Hibees look well placed to repeat the trick against sixth tier Clydebank.

St Mirren will look to avoid being on the wrong end of an upset when they travel to Queen of the South in the Scottish Cup on Saturday. While Stephen Robinson’s side have lost their last 4 Scottish Premiership matches, a cup tie with a Scottish League One outfit represents a good opportunity to restore some confidence.

Queen of the South are currently occupying 6th place in the third tier, winning just 3 of their previous 12 league games. What’s more, Peter Murphy’s men have come away empty-handed from 6 of those 12 contests, conceding 2 or more goals in 5 of those losses.

That doesn’t bode well ahead of a cup clash with a St Mirren side that have scored in 7 of their 11 Scottish Premiership games away from home this season. It’s also worth pointing out that the Saints have triumphed in three of their last 6 top-flight road trips, scoring twice or more in each of those 3 victories.

Robinson will be demanding a response from his players given their current losing streak and their superior quality should tell at Palmerston Park.