The Betfred Cup group stage draw has been made on Monday afternoon, with the 2020/21 season already underway in Scotland.
Forty clubs are involved in the draw – the 38 Scottish Professional Football League clubs not participating in Europe plus Highland League champions Brora Rangers and Lowland League winners Kelty Hearts.
The draw will produce eight groups of five teams on a regionalised basis. The four north and four south groups will each be made up of a first seed, a second seed and three unseeded clubs, with seeding based on league positions at the end of the 2019/20 season just gone.
The eight group winners and four best runners-up will progress to the last 16 on November 28/29, where they will be joined by holders Celtic, Rangers, Motherwell and Aberdeen.
The full group stage fixture list, including Premier Sports TV selections, will be confirmed in due course, with ties to be played on the following dates:
Betfred Cup group stage
Match-day 1: Tuesday October 6
Match-day 2: Saturday October 10
Match-day 3: Tuesday October 13
Match-day 4: Tuesday November 10
Match-day 5: Saturday November 14
North section – first seeds
1 St Johnstone
2 Hibernian
3 Ross County
4 Heart of Midlothian
North section – second seeds
5 Dundee United
6 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
7 Dundee
8 Arbroath
North section – unseeded teams
9 Raith Rovers
10 Montrose
11 East Fife
12 Peterhead
13 Forfar Athletic
14 Cove Rangers
15 Elgin City
16 Cowdenbeath
17 Stirling Albion
18 Brechin City
19 Brora Rangers
20 Kelty Hearts
South section – first seeds
21 Livingston
22 Kilmarnock
23 St Mirren
24 Hamilton Academical
South section – second seeds
25 Ayr United
26 Dunfermline Athletic
27 Morton
28 Alloa Athletic
South section – unseeded teams
29 Queen of the South
30 Partick Thistle
31 Falkirk
32 Airdrieonians
33 Dumbarton
34 Clyde
35 Stranraer
36 Edinburgh City
37 Queen’s Park
38 Annan Athletic
39 Stenhousemuir
40 Albion Rovers
GROUP A – NORTH
HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN
INVERNESS CALEDONIAN THISTLE
COWDENBEATH
RAITH ROVERS
EAST FIFE
GROUP B – NORTH
HIBERNIAN
DUNDEE
FORFAR ATHLETIC
BRORA RANGERS
COVE RANGERS
GROUP C – NORTH
ST JOHNSTONE
DUNDEE UNITED
PETERHEAD
BRECHIN CITY
KELTY HEARTS
GROUP D – NORTH
ROSS COUNTY
ARBROATH
ELGIN CITY
STIRLING ALBION
MONTROSE
GROUP E – SOUTH
KILMARNOCK
DUNFERMLINE
CLYDE
DUMBARTON
FALKIRK
GROUP F – SOUTH
HAMILTON
AYR UNITED
STRANRAER
ALBION ROVERS
ANNAN ATHLETIC
GROUP G – SOUTH
ST MIRREN
GREENOCK MORTON
QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
PARTICK THISTLE
QUEENS PARK
GROUP H – SOUTH
LIVINGSTON
ALLOA ATHLETIC
STENHOUSEMUIR
AIRDRIEONIANS
EDINBURGH CITY
You can watch the draw as it played out on the SPFL YouTube channel in the full 15 minutes by clicking play below…
PREVIOUS WINNERS:
Rangers – 27 times – 2011 was their last win
Celtic – 19 times – 2019 was their last win
Aberdeen – 6 times – 2014 was their last win
Heart of Midlothian – 4 times – 1962 was their last win
Hibernian – 3 times – 2007 was their last win
Dundee – 3 times – 1973 was their last win
East Fife – 3 times – 1953 was their last win
Dundee United – 2 times – 1980 was their last win
Kilmarnock – 1 time – 2012 was their last win
Motherwell – 1 time – 1950 was their last win
Partick Thistle – 1 time – 1971 was their last win
St Mirren – 1 time – 2013 was their last win
Raith Rovers – 1 time – 1994 was their last win
Ross County – 1 time – 2016 was their last win
Livingston – 1 time – 2004 was their last win
Fans took to Twitter to give their reaction after the Betfred Cup group stage draw was confirmed…
#BetfredCup Group G with @saintmirrenfc
@OfficialQosFC
, @PartickThistle
@queensparkfc pic.twitter.com/zXeD0WGMgE— Peter VASLan (@pedromcg82) August 10, 2020
Yeahhhhh, we get to play one new team we’ve not played before in the last 4 years in this groundhog day cup.
— William Donnachie (@WillieDee) August 10, 2020
Hearts & Hibs in the north section but Edinburgh City are in the south section. SPFL logic pic.twitter.com/kkrL72Sc9F
— The Gogs (@TheGreatOne94) August 10, 2020
South and North section? Dunfermline in South Section but Hibs and Hearts in North Section ?♂️
— Stuart Skeldon (@ticstu32) August 10, 2020
Lanarkshire Derby! Rovers vs Accies ??
— Eunan???????? (@AntifaEunan) August 10, 2020
Good draw for #Hibs in the #BetfredCup group stage. Dundee, Forfar, Brora and Cove Rangers
— Mel Clements (@MelClements91) August 10, 2020
Have Elgin City just drawn the same group as two year ago…!?! That’s absolutely crap #BetFredCup
— ECFCpodcast (@ECFCpodcast) August 10, 2020
Edinburgh Derby for Livvy and City… Hopefully fans back in for the first round of it as I’ll be off. #BetfredCup
— Ross Quinn (@rwq1987) August 10, 2020
Gotta get through that
— Aidan Griffins (@GriffinsAidan) August 10, 2020
Easy wins
— Jack Waddington (@_Jack_Wad_) August 10, 2020
What a group, hope fans are back by then!
— Josh Magennis (@GintoSmfc) August 10, 2020
Morton and the Jags, cannae say fairer than that
— Allan Thornley (@AllanThornley1) August 10, 2020
Brilliant group. Some good games ??
— Colin Arthur (@colin_colarthur) August 10, 2020
Living room went in carnage when that number 31 came out
— finners? (@findlay1885) August 10, 2020
not as bad as the last group drawn where all 5 clubs are in artificial !
— Andy Sharp (@andysharp77) August 10, 2020
Can’t wait to be 200 quid down in october from behind closed doors Betfred Cup days out
— Ryan Moore (@ryanmoore_74) August 10, 2020
Think every season we get Montrose in that Betfred Cup but I ain’t complaining! Hopefully give them another pumping! Mon The Lichties ????
— Sandy Soots (@MarcSoutar) August 10, 2020
Gary Oliver hat trick against St mirren and a Sean Mcginty winner against Partick. Bring on betFred Cup
— Christopher Buchanan (@mon_the_ton) August 10, 2020
I was a big fan of the Betfred league cup group format as you are playing competitive games earlier which can work as more pre season However now we are 3 seasons into it, its pish playing the same teams more or less every year. Get rid of seeding and make it a free for all
— Rab_L (@_Hertz_1874) August 10, 2020
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