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• Lawrence Shankland dreaming of cup glory with Hearts

  Lawrence Shankland is allowing himself to dream of adorning his already distinguished Hearts career with Scottish Cup glory as he targets semi-final revenge on Rangers this Sunday.

  In less than two seasons at Tynecastle, the 28-year-old Scotland forward has firmly established himself as a hero in the eyes of supporters by notching 56 goals for the Jambos.

  But Shankland knows captaining Hearts to their first silverware in 12 years would elevate his status at the club even further.

  “It would be amazing,” he said. “You’re allowed to dream when you’re at this stage.

  “The semi-final, one step away from a final, it’s obviously something you’re looking at. But you need to concentrate on the task at hand first and if you can get by that, you can continue to dream.

  “All trophies help the status of not just me but the full team. You go down as a team that gets remembered if you can get your hands on a trophy so the boys will have that in their heads and that’s what we’ll look to do.

  “It’s a great opportunity for us, it’s one we are all looking forward to and we need to go into it with a real positive outlook.”

  Shankland was at Hampden for each of Hearts’ previous two Scottish Cup triumphs in 2006 and 2012.

  “I was working at the 2012 final (against Hibernian) with Queen’s Park (where he was a young player) handing out the programmes,” he recalled. “And the one before that, against Gretna, I was at Hearts as a kid and got tickets through the club.

  “I met the Gretna owner Brooks Mileson outside the ground and got a photo with him. Good memories, so hopefully we can go back this year and get our hands on the cup.”

  Hearts’ last visit to Hampden brought a 3-1 defeat to Rangers in the semi-final of the Viaplay Cup in early November.

  However, since that setback, at a time when they were struggling in the league, Steven Naismith’s side have found much improved form over the past six months and motored 11 points clear in third place in the cinch Premiership.

  “The last time at Hampden we came away with a bit of regret,” said Shankland. “We felt we didn’t really put our stamp on the game and we let it bypass us, which was really disappointing.

  “That was something we can learn from though, so hopefully we can implement what we’ve been working on this time.”

  While Hearts go into the semi-final buoyed by back-to-back wins over St Mirren and Livingston, Rangers have won only two of their last eight matches in all competitions and have been heavily criticised as their title bid has unravelled in recent weeks.

  “Obviously they’ve been going through a wee sticky spell but we know it’s going to be difficult,” said Shankland. “It’s a Scottish Cup semi-final, it’s away from league duty, so they will get a lift from that.

  “If you look too much into their form, you could get caught. Rangers are obviously a good team and have been for the last wee while.

  “Of course form maybe drops off a wee bit but it’s just the scrutiny of our league and how high the pressure is for the two teams at the top of the league that adds to it.

  “I don’t think we can look at it too much. We’ll analyse Rangers as we know them, and the last time we played them at Ibrox, they gave us a bit of a doing (5-0), so that’s something we’ll need to be wary of.”

• Arsenal have ‘great’ title chance if they can avoid injuries – David Seaman

  David Seaman believes a clean bill of health could be the difference between Arsenal winning the Premier League and falling short this season.

  The Gunners are two points behind Manchester City after losing to Aston Villa last weekend but can return to the summit if they win at Wolves on Saturday.

  The three-way tussle with reigning champions City and a Liverpool side which are losing manager Jurgen Klopp at the end of the campaign promises to be a title showdown for the ages.

  The picture shifts after every round of fixtures and, with just six games remaining, the slightest of margins could determine the destination of the trophy.

  Both Arsenal and Liverpool slipped up last week to allow City to lead the way, while Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich has also hit Mikel Artete’s side.

  But, for former Arsenal and City goalkeeper Seaman, Arsenal need to be able to call upon their best players in the closing weeks if they are to win a first league crown in 20 years.

  They lost centre-back William Saliba in the run-in last season and were ultimately reeled in by a City side which went on to win the treble.

  “Am I confident? Yes, there’s three teams in it and, so long as Arsenal keep their players fit, then we’ve got a great chance,” Seaman said.

  “Our squad is not as big as Liverpool’s is and City’s is, but if Arsenal can keep everyone fit and ready, we’ve got a great chance.

  “We struggled last year through injuries, but now we’re at a different level at Arsenal, we are contenders whereas before we sometimes celebrated getting in the top four.

  “But now we’re in contention every season so that shows the improvement in the team.”

  Seaman will once again work with the England goalkeepers as a coach during this year’s Soccer Aid for UNICEF in June.

  The 60-year-old collected 75 caps for the Three Lions during his own playing career and has played a role in working closely with current England and Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.

  David Raya has been Arteta’s first choice since September following his move from Brentford and, while Seaman insists Ramsdale is “too good” to be a back-up goalkeeper, he has been impressed with the Spaniard.

  “When David came in, he found it tough, he came from Brentford to play for Arsenal and that is next-level pressure,” he added.

  “Plus, he overtook Aaron who was a fan’s favourite, but he’s found his feet now, his distribution at the back is brilliant and Arsenal have got two really, really good goalkeepers – how you keep them both happy, I have no idea!”

  :: Soccer Aid for Unicef 2024 takes place on 9th June at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge, with tickets available at www.socceraid.org.uk/tickets

• Sheffield United v Burnley: Kompany wants fearless approach

  Vincent Kompany knows his team need to take more risks as Burnley prepare for another huge game in the fight for Premier League safety when they face fellow strugglers Sheffield United.

  Burnley dropped two points in a 1-1 draw with Brighton at Turf Moor last weekend, as Arijanet Muric's own goal denied them a win that would have inched them closer to safety.

  While Luton Town and Everton both suffered defeats, Nottingham Forest's draw means that Burnley sit six points from safety, though they are four points better off than the Blades ahead of Saturday's game.

  Asked about the approach his side will take against another team in the relegation zone, Kompany said: "Sheffield is another different game for us, it has a bit of a cup final feeling to it as well. We know we have to go there, attack the game, and show no fear.

  "Going there on Saturday, we have nothing to lose. We approach it with no fear, we have to show our strengths and go there to play our hearts out and run our socks off. We're playing to be in the Premier League and that's our goal."

  United head into Saturday's match with their survival hopes having been further diminished by a 2-0 defeat to Brentford.

  After failing to win any of their last eight games, Chris Wilder explained how his side has struggled to cope with the demands of the Premier League.

  "Like us, they've [Burnley] found results difficult to come by, and they've taken the beatings when they've had to – as have we," Wilder said.

  "They've picked up points recently. We’ve not picked up enough points that I believe our performances have deserved. We need to marry up decent performances with a big result. That's what we’re there to try and get.

  "Both teams are after three points, I think we all realise where we are with that. We're in it to win it, and so will they be."

  PLAYERS TO WATCH

  Sheffield United – Oli McBurnie

  McBurnie has been involved in eight goals in his last eight Premier League home games, scoring six and assisting twice. The only game in this run in which he has not registered a goal or assist was in the Blades' 6-0 defeat to Arsenal last month.

  Burnley – Josh Brownhill

  Brownhill has been directly involved in two goals in his last three Premier League appearances (one goal, one assist), as many as he managed in his 16 before that, with his goal last week opening the scoring.

  MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

  United have lost just one of their last 20 home league games against Burnley (W14 D5), going down 3-2 in December 2008. They have won both of their Premier League games against the Clarets at Bramall Lane.

  However, only one of the five Premier League games between two newly promoted teams this season have been won by the home team (D1 L3), though that occurred in the reverse fixture between Burnley and United back in December (5-0).

  Since a 1-0 win against Brentford, the Blades are winless in seven home league games (D3 L4), conceding at least twice in each match. Only twice has a team conceded 2+ goals in eight consecutive Premier League home games – Wolves in 2011-12 (11) and Norwich in 2019 (nine).

  United have also conceded 84 goals in their 32 Premier League games this season; it is the most at this stage ever in a Premier League campaign, and the most the Blades have conceded overall in a league campaign since 1954-55 (86 in 42 games).

  Burnley, meanwhile, have dropped 24 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season, with only Brentford (30) losing more.

  OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

  Sheffield United – 31.4%

  Burnley – 38.8%

  Draw – 29.8%