5 talking points ahead of Scottish Cup final between Rangers and Hearts

The two teams meet at Hampden on Saturday.

Rangers meet Hearts in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points ahead of the Hampden showpiece.

Rangers’ Euro hangover

Rangers were beaten on penalties in the Europa League final (Andrew Milligan/PA).

Hearts’ fitness issues

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson has had fitness issues to contend with (Steve Welsh/PA).

Ibrox men have upper hand

Rangers celebrate in their recent league win over Hearts (Andrew Milligan/PA).

Gers aim to end drought

Although they won the Premiership last term, Rangers are still waiting to win their first major domestic knockout tournament since recovering from their financial meltdown a decade ago. The Ibrox club last won the League Cup in 2011, while they have not won the Scottish Cup since defeating Falkirk in the 2009 final. The closest they came to changing that was in 2016 when they lost 3-2 to Hibernian in the final. There is a feeling within the Rangers camp that the wait has gone on too long.

Memories of 98

Hearts will be hoping for a repeat of the last time the two teams met in a major final 24 years ago. In 1998, the Tynecastle side went into the Scottish Cup final on the back of finishing third in the league, while Rangers had finished second – the same as this season. In addition, as they are on this occasion, the Ibrox side went into the game against a backdrop of disappointment after seeing their hopes of a 10th title in a row dashed the previous week when Celtic pipped them. The Jambos scored in the first minute and went on to win 2-1. Current manager Neilson – a youth-team player at the time – and goalkeeper Craig Gordon, incidentally, were among those watching on from the crowd that day.