Scottish League Cup Betting Tips

About Scottish League Cup

The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. It was first held in 1946-47, making it the oldest national league cup still in existence. The competition was initially played in a knockout format, but became a group and knockout competition from 2016-17.

Scottish League Cup - Format

In the past, the Scottish League Cup has fluctuated between a straight knockout tournament and a group stage. Since the 2016-17 season, the League Cup has been played in a group stage. The format sees eight groups of five teams competing in a round-robin tournament.

The forty teams playing in the group stage consist of the 38 clubs in the league not involved in UEFA competitions, plus two teams from outside the league. In the group stage, there are three points for a win and one point for a draw. In the event of a tie after ninety minutes, a penalty shoot-out takes place, with the winning team receiving a bonus point. The groups are regionalised: There are four groups in the North Section and four in the South Section, with three pots for each regional section - top seed, second seed and unseeded clubs. Each group consists of one top seed, one second seed and three unseeded clubs.

The eight group winners and the top three runners-up progress to the second round, where they will face the five clubs competing in UEFA competitions. The tournament is then played in a knockout system. There are no replays, i.e. all drawn matches are decided in extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out. The semi-finals are played on a neutral ground determined by the location and size of the clubs involved. The final is traditionally played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, but due to renovations some finals have been played at other venues such as Celtic Park or Ibrox Stadium.

The new format also allowed the SPFL to reintroduce the two-week winter break in January. Along with the revamp of the tournament, a new television deal was also announced as BT Sport took over the rights from BBC Scotland. In February 2016, the SPFL announced that the League Cup Final would be moved to November.