National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Hearts U21 or Buckie Thistle that keep their silverware dream alive.
It's no vacation for neither Hearts U21 nor Buckie Thistle as both were in action only a few days ago. Expect some tired legs on the pitch and/or possibly some changes to the lineups.
Hearts U21 form and stats
Last season their Challenge Cup adventure ended in the 2nd round.The spoils were shared in Hearts's previous game, also at home. Visiting Civil Service Strollers travelled back with a draw after a 2-2 scoreline.
In the match before that, Hearts U21 hosted Cowdenbeath and drew the Football League game 1-1.The manager Naismith will start preparations for the next game as soon this is finished, as the hosts are going to Bo'ness United in only three days.
Buckie Thistle form and stats
Last season their Challenge Cup adventure ended in the 2nd round.Two away matches in a row for Thistle, whose manager Stewart could celebrate last time after the win against Lossiemouth. As mentioned above, Buckie Thistle was the only team on the pitch versus Lossiemouth in their previous game, winning 6-0. This could be a tougher task.
That result followed a home victory 2-1 versus Fraserburgh in the Football League - Highland League.So, this is expected to be a close game, an even contest. Looking at earlier matches with Thistle playing away and similar expectations, we found 4 relevant matches. Results were 3 Buckie Thistle wins, 0 draws and 1 defeat.
A quick return to home after this game, as Buckie Thistle are hosting Strathspey Thistle in the Football League - Highland League only three days away.
Thistle played one friendly in their break from official games, resulting in 0 victories, 0 draws and 1 defeat. In these one match Buckie Thistle scored 1 and conceded 2 goals.
Head 2 Head
Hearts U21 missing players
Buckie Thistle missing players
| Hearts U21 | Buckie Thistle | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 11 | 5 | Played | P | 12 | 25 | ||
| 4 | 2 | Won | W | 10 | 19 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Drew | D | 0 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Lost | L | 2 | 4 | ||
| 22 | 13 | Scored | S | 43 | 73 | ||
| 18 | 6 | Conceded | C | 13 | 24 | ||
| 100% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 100% | ||
| 82% | 100% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 100% | 96% | ||
| 73% | 80% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 92% | 80% | ||
| 64% | 60% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 92% | 60% | ||
| 36% | 20% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 58% | 40% | ||
| 73% | 80% | BTTS | BTTS | 50% | 52% | ||
| 18% | 20% | Clean Sheets | C S | 42% | 44% | ||
| 9% | 0% | Failed to Score | F T | 8% | 4% | ||
| 4.6 | 9 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 5 | 4.6 | ||
| 5.2 | 2 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 4.6 | 4.3 | ||
| 0.6 | 0 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 2.2 | 2 | ||
| 0 | 0 | Red cards | R C | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10.6 | 15 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 13.4 | 11.9 | ||
| 5 | 7 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 6.2 | 5.7 | ||
| 44% | 43% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 32% | 30% | ||
| 10.8 | 9 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 9 | 8.1 | ||
| 5.8 | 4 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 4.8 | 4.3 | ||
