Two Euro 2020 hopefuls line up on opposite sides this afternoon hoping to fire their team into the final and make Scotland boss Steve Clarke take notice.

United striker Lawrence Shankland dropped out of Clarke's squad for the opening World Cup qualifiers in March after struggling to match his prolific lower-league scoring rate in the top flight, with eight goals in 35 games this season.

He looks to have been leapfrogged in the pecking order by Hibs' Kevin Nisbet. The 24-year-old has netted 17 times for his club and made his Scotland debut off the bench in the 4-0 World Cup qualifying romp over the Faroes.

Which of the strikers will hold sway today?

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One of the other Scottish Cup semi-finalists, St Johnstone, hand midfielder Craig Bryson a new deal on the eve of their tie with St Mirren.

Dundee Utd have won the Scottish Cup twice, but had more than their fair share of heartbreak before finally shedding their nearly men tag.

The Tannadice club were runners-up six times before they secured glory in 1994 when Craig Brewster's goal stunned favourites Rangers.

Two other final defeats were to follow, but in between times was the 2010 triumph as Peter Houston's United swept to the trophy with a 3-0 victory over Ross County.

Now United are back in the semis for the first time since Hibs halted their silverware bid five years ago.

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Hibs have had the upper hand over top-flight newcomers United this season, with an Easter Road draw sandwiched between two away wins at Tannadice.

The most recent tussle was a 2-0 victory on Tayside where a rare goal from Darren McGregor sent the visitors on their way.

The sides also met in the Scottish Cup fourth round last season where a Christian Doidge hat-trick helped Hibs prevail 4-2 in the replay following a 2-2 draw.

You have to go back to December 2016 - when both sides were in the Championship - for the last time United got the better of Hibs, with a Tony Andreu penalty the only goal on that occasion.

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Dundee United are unchanged for the Hampden contest with strikers Nicky Clark, Marc McNulty and Lawrence Shankland all starting.

Peter Pawlett, Adrian Sporle and Louis Appere are attacking options off the bench for Micky Mellon.

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Three changes for Hibs with Matt Macey in goal - as is custom in the cup - with Ofir Marciano dropping to the bench.

Melker Hallberg takes over from the suspended Alex Gogic in midfield and striker Kevin Nisbet - who missed last week's defeat to St Johnstone with a knock - returns in place of Drey Wright.

On the bench, Jamie Murphy gets a spot, having not played since early March.

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Dundee Utd: Deniz, L Smith, Edwards, Reynolds, Robson, Harkes, Fuchs, Butcher, Clark, Shankland, McNulty.

Substitutes: Doohan, Sporle, Connolly, Pawlett, Chalmers, Appere, Davidson, Watson, K Smith.

Hibernian: Macey, McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon, Doig, Irvine, Hallberg, Newell, Boyle, Doidge, Nisbet.

Substitutes: Marciano, Gray, Magennis, Wright, Stevenson, Murphy, McGregor, Laidlaw.

Sportsound is up and running on your airwaves at Radio Scotland 810 MW and 92-95 FM and can be accessed by clicking the link at the top of the page.

The live commentary in an hour or so comes from the Scottish Cup semi-final, with Billy Dodds and Willie Miller on pundit duty.

There are also updates from all the play-off ties, and live online-only commentary of the Raith Rovers v Dunfermline second leg can be found here.

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The play-off picture will become clearer after this afternoon's six ties involving teams from the Championship down to the Lowland and Highland Leagues.

Second-tier pair Raith Rovers and Dunfermline are locked at 0-0 after the first leg of their Premiership quarter-final. Dundee await the winners of that one.

The Championship play-offs get under way with Cove Rangers and Montrose on home duty in the first leg of the semi-finals.

In the League One play-offs, Edinburgh City visit Elgin and Stranraer host Dumbarton in the opening semis.

And in the League 2 reckoning, Kelty Hearts have a 2-0 lead as they bid complete the job at home to Brora Rangers and set up a final against Brechin City.

We'll keep you updated with all the goals from across the country.

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Good afternoon. Grab yourself a cuppa and settle in for a big day on the Scottish football calendar.

It's all eyes on Hampden at 16:00 BST for the first of this season's Scottish Cup semi-finals as Premiership rivals Hibernian and Dundee United go head to head.

Stay right here for the big-match build-up and all the action, drama and hopefully goals from the national stadium.

Before that - at 15:00 - there are six play-off ties from across the SPFL as teams battle for survival and promotion as the season rumbles towards a conclusion.