Scottish Cup final
Date: Saturday, 26 May
Kick-off: 1500 BST
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Watch: BBC One Scotland
Listen: BBC Radio Scotland & BBC Radio Five Live
Updates: BBC Sport website and mobile
Dunfermline will be without cup-tied duo Tom McManus and Stephen Glass, the suspended Gary Mason, the injured Greg Ross and on-loan winger Jim O'Brien.

The latter was refused permission by Celtic to play against his parent club.

Celtic defenders Gary Caldwell, John Kennedy, Steven Pressley and Darren O'Dea are battling it out to partner Stephen McManus at the back.

Aiden McGeady is pushing for a place in midfield, having started the last two matches on the bench.

Captain Neil Lennon will bring the curtain down on his Celtic career and is a certain starter, along with playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura and Paul Hartley.

Derek Riordan is competing with McGeady for the remaining midfield slot, although he could be deployed in attack.

Top scorer Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink will lead the attack as the SPL champions chase a domestic Double.

Kenny Miller, Craig Beattie and Jiri Jarosik are all possible partners for the giant Dutchman, but the trio have struggled for form recently.

Like Celtic counterpart Gordon Strachan, Pars manager Stephen Kenny was not impressed with the fringe men given an opportunity to shine on the final day of the league season.

But the Irishman has less room for manoeuvre, with four of his recent first choices being denied a Hampden place.

Darren Young looks to have been passed fit and should continue to deputise for the suspended Mason in the midfield engine room.

Dorus De Vries missed out last weekend through injury but should return in place of Roddy McKenzie.

That despite the Dutch goalkeeper's howler the previous week as the Pars were relegated from the Scottish Premier League.

Winger Adam Hammill, inspirational for Dunfermline since arriving on loan from Liverpool in January, will return after being missing for the Pars last weekend while on England Under-19 duty.

And influential veteran Jim McIntyre, whose penalty beat Hibernian in the semi-final, will be back up front.

Who partners him there is less clear cut as Dunfermline aim to lift the Scottish Cup for the first time in 39 years - and achieve a unique double of winning it in the same year they were relegated.

With the equally in-form McManus cup-tied, former Scotland striker Stevie Crawford, Freddie Daquin, Jim Hamilton and Mark Burchill all failed to improve their chances against Falkirk.

Kenny must also decide whether he can continue his two-winger tactic, having been denied the services of O'Brien by his cup final opponents.

Versatile 20-year-old Ross was the latest to be ruled out.

It had been hoped that a knee operation for the defender, who can also play in midfield, could be postponed until next week.

However, the player was experiencing too much pain.



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Dunfermline squad: McKenzie, Shields, Muirhead, Woods, Bamba, Wilson, Young, McCunnie, Simmons, Crawford, Daquin, Hamilton, Burchill, De Vries, McGuire, Hammill, S Morrison, O Morrison.

Celtic squad: Boruc, Perrier-Doumbe, Naylor, Pressley, McManus, Kennedy, Nakamura, Lennon, Caldwell, Hartley, Riordan, McGeady, Miller, Beattie, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Brown, Gravesen, O'Dea, Bjarnason, Jarosik, Sno, Zurawski.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ps/6684941.stm