Tuesday’s football card is all about the lower rungs of the pyramid, with two very different cup competitions taking centre stage. In England, the FA Cup Qualification rounds continue to sort the non-league hopefuls from the also-rans, with thirteen ties across the Isthmian, Southern and Northern Premier setups all kicking off at 21:45 local time.
North of the border, the Scottish Challenge Cup brings its familiar mix of senior lower-league sides and Under-21/B teams from the country’s top clubs, as Rangers B, Celtic B, Aberdeen B and company look to build momentum in a competition that has become an important development tool for Scotland’s biggest academies.
Below we run through all 31 fixtures with a quick lean on each, plus a short note on why. As always with cup football at this level, expect a few upsets — squad rotation, unfamiliar opponents and short preparation time make these ties notoriously hard to call.
🏴FA Cup Qualification — England
| Time | Match | Prediction |
|---|---|---|
| 21:45 | Braintree vs Needham Market | Home win |
| 21:45 | Chippenham vs Yate Town | Home win |
| 21:45 | Crowborough vs Hampton & Richmond | Away win |
| 21:45 | Dag & Red vs Waltham Abbey | Home win |
| 21:45 | Dorking vs Southall FC | Home win |
| 21:45 | Farnborough vs Uxbridge | Home win |
| 21:45 | Farnham vs Cirencester | Draw |
| 21:45 | Gainsborough vs Leamington | Away win |
| 21:45 | Maidstone vs Cray Wanderers | Home win |
| 21:45 | Truro vs Merthyr Town | Away win |
| 21:45 | Wimborne vs Weston-super-Mare | Away win |
| 21:45 | Wingate & Finchley vs Hemel Hempstead | Draw |
| 21:45 | Worksop vs AFC Telford | Away win |
Note: these are qualifying-round ties between clubs from adjacent non-league divisions, so home advantage and current league standing are given more weight than name recognition alone.
🏴Challenge Cup — Scotland
| Time | Match | Prediction |
|---|---|---|
| 21:45 | Alloa vs Hibernian B | Home win |
| 21:45 | Banks O’ Dee vs Aberdeen B | Draw |
| 21:45 | Berwick vs Stranraer | Draw |
| 21:45 | Bonnyrigg Rose vs Airdrieonians | Away win |
| 21:45 | Clachnacuddin vs Ross County | Away win |
| 21:45 | Clyde vs Rangers B | Away win |
| 21:45 | Clydebank FC vs St. Mirren B | Home win |
| 21:45 | Dumbarton vs Kilmarnock B | Home win |
| 21:45 | East Kilbride vs Celtic B | Away win |
| 21:45 | Edinburgh City vs Dundee Utd B | Home win |
| 21:45 | Elgin City vs Dundee FC B | Home win |
| 21:45 | Forfar Athletic vs Peterhead | Draw |
| 21:45 | Formartine Utd vs Montrose | Away win |
| 21:45 | Fraserburgh vs Cove Rangers | Away win |
| 21:45 | Gala Fairydean vs Spartans | Away win |
| 21:45 | Kelty Hearts vs Hearts B | Home win |
| 21:45 | Queen of South vs Annan | Home win |
| 21:45 | Stirling vs Cumbernauld Colts | Home win |
Note: several ties pit senior lower-league clubs against the B/Under-21 sides of top-flight academies. These young squads can be talented but inconsistent against experienced, well-drilled senior opposition, which is reflected in a handful of upset picks above.
Leave a Comment