Hibernian vs Raith Predictions

Neil Lennon’s departure has forced Eddie May to become interim coach for the time being but he has openly stated that he doesn’t want the permanent job. This has probably held the team back slightly as they have lost two of their three games under May. To be fair, these defeats came against Celtic and Aberdeen which is a tough challenge for any coach but the 3-1 win over bottom club St. Mirren wasn’t exactly comfortable as they went in at half time losing. 

With so much confusion at the club currently regarding the managerial position, they will probably be quite happy to have the chance to take their minds off of the league with this Scottish Cup fixture but they still have to win it. Against Celtic in midweek Hibs conceded eight shots on target without being able to reply with any and it was a similarly disappointing result last weekend as they only had 31% of the possession. This cup tie could be tricky against Raith but do they have the quality to get past the League One side?

John McGlynn’s Raith team have been enjoying life in League One but will ultimately be looking to get promotion this year after they fell at the play-off hurdles last season. They sit 2nd, twelve points behind Arbroath in 1st but have recently suffered some rather disappointing results. They have picked up two draws, against 4th placed Forfar (1-1) and 6th placed Airdrie (1-1), and one defeat in their last three games but this loss came against third bottom Brechin so the team will be eager to bounce back with a big win over Hibs. 

The Rovers have been great in front of goal this season but have also been lax at the back, meaning that both teams have scored in 16 of their last 18 league games, making them a very exciting team to watch as a neutral. They have scored 20 and conceded 12 in their last nine matches and this inconsistency of performance has really held them back in the league. However, in the cup so far they have been much more confident with two 3-0 wins guiding them to this stage but can they recreate that again here? 

Raith Rovers have won three of their last six away games and travel to Easter Road where Hibernian have only won two of their last eight matches. Raith haven’t been doing great in the league but the Scottish Cup has been a different story for the Fifers and we can see them winning this match against a Hibs side without a manager. The Hibees looked bereft of confidence against Celtic and Aberdeen and we think Raith will smell blood here and progress to the next round with a narrow 2-1 win to continue their trend of both teams scoring.