Hearts have learned when they will kick-off their 2020/21 Scottish Cup campaign after a revised format for the competition was confirmed.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this season’s competition will be truncated and feature fewer ties, with replays scrapped...and will start before the current one ends.
And postponed fixtures up to and including round two must attempt to be played in the first midweek after the original match was scheduled.
As a Championship club, Hearts will enter in round two with the nine other second tier teams, ten League Two teams the 20 winners of the round one ties.
These games will take place on Saturday 9 January.
The 12 Premiership teams will enter in round three, with ties to take place on 30 January.
Last season’s competition is still to be completed, with Hearts playing Hibs at Hampden this Saturday for a place in the final against either Aberdeen or Celtic on 20 December.
The scheduling means Hearts, should they win the Scottish Cup, would begin their defence of the trophy less than a month after lifting it.
Key changes to the format for 2020/21 include:
• The removal of replays for all matches, with the outcome of any drawn match being determined by extra time and penalties, if required.
• The entry point of clubs to the competition and the number of ties in each round.
• The requirement to attempt to re-schedule any postponed match in the Preliminary Rounds, Round One and Round Two, during the first midweek after the original match date.
• The number of substitutes permitted in a match will revert back to three, with an additional one permitted in any period of extra-time.
