SHOCKS have been thin on the ground in the Scottish Cup third round and Hibernian will be hoping that trend continues as they head to Palmerston for a tricky tie with Queen of the South.
The Hibees are homing in on a third-placed finish in the Premiership but will also be targeting a Cup run after reaching last season's semi-finals.
A gut-wrenching derby defeat stopped Jack Ross' men from reaching the final and they also crashed out of this season's League Cup in the last four with a 3-0 loss to St Johnstone.
So Jack Ross' men will be out to make amends but this clash with in-form Championship side Queens is a potential banana skin on the road to Hampden.
The Doonhamers have lost just twice in their last eight games and warmed up for this cup tie by beating Championship leaders Hearts 3-2 at Tynecastle.
So Allan Johnston's men will fancy their chances of doing the Edinburgh double on the plastic Palmerston pitch.
How the bookies view it
Queen of the South look a bit overpriced at 5/1 with most firms while Hibs are a best 9/20 at Betfred and the stalemate 19/5 with SBK. To qualify, the Hibees are 2/9 with Bet365 and the Doonhamers 33/10 at SportNation.
Recent head to head
Hibs are unbeaten in their last four meetings with Queens but the Dumfries side have won the last two cup ties. They claimed a 3-1 victory at Easter Road in the 2016 League Cup (below) after a 2-0 triumph at Palmerston four years earlier in the same competition.
The last Scottish Cup clash between these sides came in 2007, with the Hibees emerging 2-1 victors in Dumfries.
Players to watch
Connor Shields has replaced Stephen Dobbie as top gun for Queens this season, netting 11 times. He scored a double at Tynecastle last weekend and is 5/4 with McBookie for anytime scorer.
Christian Doidge ended a 15-game goal drought by netting for Hibs against Livingston before the international break. He's also 5/4 with McBookie to grab another goal in this cup tie.
Anything else catch the eye?
Games involving Queen of the South have been thrillers of late, with their last four matches producing a total of 19 goals. Over 2.5 strikes is only worth considering for accumulators at 4/7 with TonyBet but the same firm price between 2-3 match goals at 107/100 and that is tempting.
The first period has been the highest-scoring half in the last four Doonhamers games and a repeat here pays a decent 21/10 at BoyleSports.
Alex Gogic has picked up seven yellows so far this term so could be worth a punt at 2/1 with McBookie to be carded, even though my last bet on a Hibs card failed to land.
This Scottish Cup match between Queen of the South and Hibernian will be played on Apr 5, 2021 and kick off at 19:35. Check below for our tipsters best Queen of the South vs Hibernian prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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