2022–23 Scottish League Cup


The 2022–23 Scottish League Cup, also known as the Premier Sports Cup / Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 77th season of Scotland's second-most prestigious football knockout competition. Celtic were the defending champions. They retained the title to win the competition for a 21st time.

Format

The format for the 2022–23 competition was similar to the previous six seasons; however, this season the group stage was not regionalised. The competition began with eight groups of five teams. The five clubs initially competing in the UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League qualifying rounds received a bye to the second round. The group stage consisted of 40 teams: all remaining teams that competed across the SPFL in 2021–22, and the 2021–22 Highland Football League champions and runners-up, and the 2021–22 Lowland Football League champions.
The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the three best runners-up, progressed to the second round. 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; however, for each group stage match that finished in a draw, a penalty shoot-out took place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.

Group stage

The teams were seeded according to their final league positions in 2021–22 and drawn into eight groups, with each group comprising one team from each pot. The draw for the group stage took place on 25 May 2022 and was broadcast live on FreeSports & the .

Group H

Knockout phase

Second round

Draw and seeding

Celtic, Dundee United, Heart of Midlothian, Motherwell and Rangers entered the competition at this stage, due to their participation in UEFA club competitions.
The draw took place on 24 July 2022, following the Aberdeen v Raith Rovers match.
Teams in bold advanced to the quarter-finals.
SeededUnseeded

  • Annan Athletic**
  • Falkirk*
  • Inverness Caledonian Thistle†
  • Kilmarnock
  • Livingston
  • Partick Thistle†
  • Queen of the South*
  • Ross County
    • ;Notes

    Quarter-finals

    The draw took place on 31 August 2022, following the Ross County v Celtic match.

    Semi-finals

    The draw took place on 19 October 2022, following the Rangers v Dundee match. VAR was used for the first time in the tournament when it was introduced at the semi-final stage.

    Media coverage

    The domestic broadcasting rights for the competition are held exclusively by Premier Sports, who will broadcast between 12 and 16 live matches per season, as well as highlights.
    The following matches were broadcast live on UK television:
    RoundDateMatch
    Group stage10 July 2022Peterhead v Aberdeen
    Group stage12 July 2022Falkirk v Hibernian
    Group stage13 July 2022Kilmarnock v Partick Thistle
    Group stage17 July 2022Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic v Hibernian
    Group stage19 July 2022
    Group stage24 July 2022Aberdeen v Raith Rovers
    Second round30 August 2022Rangers v Queen of the South
    Second round31 August 2022Ross County v Celtic
    Quarter-finals18 October 2022Kilmarnock v Dundee United
    Quarter-finals19 October 2022Motherwell v Celtic
    Quarter-finals19 October 2022Rangers v Dundee
    Semi-finals14 January 2023Celtic v Kilmarnock
    Semi-finals15 January 2023Rangers v Aberdeen
    Final26 February 2023Rangers v Celtic