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2023–24 Scottish League Cup

The 2023–24 Scottish League Cup, also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 78th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition.

Celtic were the two-time defending champions, but were eliminated in the second round by Kilmarnock.

Rangers won their 28th Scottish League Cup beating Aberdeen 1–0 in the final.

Schedule

Format

The competition began with eight groups of five teams.[2] The five clubs initially competing in the UEFA Champions League (Celtic and Rangers), Europa League (Aberdeen) and Europa Conference League (Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian) received a bye to the second round. The group stage consisted of 40 teams: all remaining teams that competed across the SPFL in 2022–23, the 2022–23 Highland Football League champions (Brechin City) and 2022–23 Lowland Football League champions (The Spartans). Unlike previous seasons where the remaining group stage spot was given to the runners-up of the Highland League or Lowland League, Cowdenbeath – who finished 15th in the Lowland League, having been relegated from Scottish League Two in 2022 – accepted an invitation to participate.[2]

The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the three best runners-up, progressed to the second round (last 16). At this stage, the competition reverted to the traditional knock-out format. The three group winners with the highest points total and the European entrants were seeded.

Bonus point system

The traditional point system of awarding three points for a win and one point for a draw was used. In addition, for each group stage match that finished in a draw, a penalty shoot-out took place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.[3]

Group stage

The teams were seeded according to their final league positions in 2022–23 and drawn into eight groups, with each group comprising one team from each pot. The draw for the group stage took place on 8 June 2023 and was broadcast live on Viaplay & the SPFL YouTube channel.[2]

Group A

Source: [4]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Group B

Source: [6]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Group C

Source: [7]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Group D

Source: [8]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Group E

Source: [9]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Group F

Source: [10]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Group G

Source: [11]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Group H

Source: [12]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Best runners-up

Source: [13]
Rules for classification: 1) goal difference, 2) goals scored, 3) away goals scored, 4) matches won, 5) away matches won, 6) drawing of lots.[5]

Knockout phase

Second round

Draw and seeding

Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen, Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian entered the competition at this stage, due to their participation in UEFA club competitions. They joined the three group winners with the best records as the eight seeded sides. The other five group winners and the three best runners up were the unseeded sides.[2]

Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals.

Matches

Quarter-finals

Rangers vs Livingston at Ibrox Stadium, 27 September 2023

The draw took place on Sunday 20 August 2023 following the Kilmarnock v Celtic match live on Viaplay Sports 1.[22]

Teams in bold advanced to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

The draw took place on Wednesday 27 September 2023 following the Rangers v Livingston match live on Viaplay Sports 1.[27]

Teams in bold advanced to the final.

Final

Media coverage

The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition are held exclusively by Viaplay Sports, who will broadcast between 12 and 16 live matches per season, as well as highlights.[30]

The following matches were broadcast live on UK television:

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Date set for Viaplay Cup draw". SPFL. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "2023/24 Viaplay Cup draw seedings". SPFL. 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  3. ^ "New League Cup format and TV deal". SPFL. 7 December 2015. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group A". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Format". SPFL. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group B". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group C". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group D". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group E". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group F". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group G". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Summary - League Cup Group H". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Summary - League Cup". Soccerway. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Stirling Albion vs. Aberdeen - 18 August 2023". Soccerway. 18 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Rangers vs. Greenock Morton - 19 August 2023". Soccerway. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Airdrieonians vs. Ross County - 19 August 2023". Soccerway. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Livingston vs. Ayr United - 19 August 2023". Soccerway. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  18. ^ "St Mirren vs. Motherwell - 19 August 2023". Soccerway. 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  19. ^ "Hibernian vs. Raith Rovers - 20 August 2023". Soccerway. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Heart of Midlothian vs. Partick Thistle - 20 August 2023". Soccerway. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  21. ^ "Kilmarnock vs. Celtic - 20 August 2023". Soccerway. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Viaplay Cup draw on Sunday". SPFL. 20 August 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Kilmarnock vs. Hearts - 26 September 2023". Soccerway. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Hibernian vs. St. Mirren - 27 September 2023". Soccerway. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Ross County vs. Aberdeen - 27 September 2023". Soccerway. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  26. ^ "Rangers vs. Livingston - 27 September 2023". Soccerway. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Viaplay Cup semi-final draw". SPFL. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Hibernian vs. Aberdeen - 4 November 2023". Soccerway. 4 November 2023. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  29. ^ "Hearts vs. Rangers - 5 November 2023". Soccerway. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  30. ^ "Premier Sports to sponsor League Cup". SPFL. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  31. ^ a b c d e "Viaplay Cup group stage fixtures". SPFL. 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  32. ^ a b "Viaplay Cup R2 fixture details". SPFL. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  33. ^ a b "Viaplay Cup quarter-final update". SPFL. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  34. ^ a b "Viaplay Cup semi-final details". SPFL. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  35. ^ "Viaplay Cup Final 2023/24". SPFL. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.