Ayr United v Hibs - Early team news, manager quotes, ticket info and live TV coverage details

Hibs will have to avoid something of a banana skin when they visit Championship promotion contenders Ayr United in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup on Friday night.

David Gray’s side will make the trip to Somerset Park in fine form after embarking on a nine-game unbeaten run in the league and also came through a fourth round tie against Clydebank during that time. However, they will take on an Ayr side that have lost just one of their last ten league game and have been boosted by the news Scott Brown has been named as Championship manager of the month for January.

With a place in the last eight of the competition lying in wait for the winners of Friday’s tie, we take a look at the latest ahead of what should be a challenging night for Gray and his players.

What is the early team news ahead of Ayr United v Hibs?

Ayr are likely to have a similar squad available to the one that helped them to a 2-0 win at Championship rivals Hamilton last weekend. Hibs will be without Joe Newell (groin), Marvin Ekpiteta (thigh) and Elie Youan (foot).

What has Scott Brown said ahead of Ayr United v Hibs?

The Ayr boss said: "For us and the clubs that I played for, now we can see the benefits of getting time. Rome wasn't built in a day. We slowly got to bring everybody together and that's what Dave's done really well. Now it's all about us and how we develop our team.

"We came in and started to pull everyone together. This is a big challenge for us. On Friday we need to make sure we're ready for this challenge. We're in a great place in the league which is brilliant, but it takes care of itself next week when we go back into that. This is the main focus this week. It's all about how to make sure we can stop Hibs and how we can affect them in the final third."

What has David Gray said ahead of Hibs v Ayr United?

“Yeah, I know him (Brown) well, obviously from playing against him and then probably more so now he's on the same coaching course as me at the minute actually. We’re doing our Pro License together and because of that as you get on the courses together you start to speak about things.

Hibs head coach David Gray. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group

“I was really close to Steven Whittaker when he was here, so that's his assistant manager, so it'll be good to see them. I'm sure they'll look forward to the game themselves, it's a good draw for them, you know getting a Premier League team at home for them, but it's an opportunity for us to try and progress in the Cup. Scott played in my testimonial, as well – and he could probably still play now, to be fair. He’s super fit. I remember coming away from the game thinking he could still play if he wanted, to a certain level.

“Yeah, it's a good draw. As soon as it came out, a lot of people spoke about it straight away, it's an interesting tie, they made the connection straight away with Scott Brown obviously. But as far as we're concerned it's the next opponent in the Cup and an opportunity for us to try and progress - and we'll be making sure we do everything we can to try and do that.”

Who have Ayr United and Hibs beat to reach the fifth round?

Scott Brown’s side have already come through two ties to set up their home clash with his former club. Second-half goals from Michael Devlin and Jamie Murphy helped Ayr to a 2-0 home win in a third round tie against Greenock Morton before a Jay Henderson hat-trick inspired them to a 8-0 demolition of Broxburn Athletic. Hibs have only played one tie in the competition as a Martin Boyle brace helped Gray’s men to a 3-0 home victory against Clydebank.

Are tickets still available for Ayr United v Hibs?

Yes, Hibs supporters can still buy tickets for Friday’s game and Ayr’s official website confirms the travelling support will be situated in the Railway End (standing behind the goal), West Stand (seating), North Stand (seating) and North Terrace (standing). For ticket costs and to be click here.

Is Ayr United v Hibs live on television?

Unsurprisingly, yes! The moment the two clubs were pulled out of the velvet bag, it almost seemed incredibly likely the tie would be selected for live broadcast. The match will also be shown on the BBC Scotland Channel and BBC iPlayer and coverage from Somerset Park begins at 7:30pm live, quarter of an hour before kick-off.

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