Celtic may still be just wrapping up pre-season, but has been plenty of competitive action taking place across Scotland over the last fortnight. 80 matches have been played in the Scottish League Cup group stages, which has seen 29 clubs eliminated. So, with the 22-times winners poised to enter the competition, who could they face?
When do Celtic enter the League Cup?
Celtic enter the SPFL League Cup in the second round. They will do so alongside Heart of Midlothian, Rangers, Motherwell and Hibernian, with Scotland's UEFA competition entrants all receiving a bye into the round of 16 and not featuring in the group stages.
When is the League Cup second round draw?
The League Cup second round draw will take place at around 5:15pm on Sunday 26 July. It will be broadcast live on Premier Sports following their coverage of St Mirren vs Dunfermline Athletic. Celtic faces both the Buddies and the Pars in a cup final last season, defeated 3-1 by St Mirren in December, during Wilfried Nancy's ill-fated time in charge, before swatting aside Neil Lennon's team by the same scoreline in May.
Who could Celtic face in the League Cup second round?
Celtic, alongside the other four European representatives, will be seeded in Sunday's draw. They will be joined by the three group winners with the best records. The other five group winners, as well as the three group runners-up who've managed to sneak through, will be unseeded. Thus, with one fixture in Paisley still to play, this is how the seeding currently stands:
Scottish League Cup second round: seeded and unseeded teams
Seeded teams | Unseeded teams |
|---|---|
Celtic | Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
Heart of Midlothian | Stenhousemuir |
Rangers | Dundee United |
Motherwell | Kilmarnock |
Hibernian | Dundee |
Aberdeen | Partick Thistle |
Ayr United | Ross County, St Mirren, Dunfermline or Queen's Park. |
Ross County or St Mirren | Ross County, St Mirren, Dunfermline or Queen's Park. |
Martin O'Neill's team will face one of the eight unseeded teams. It is determined at random whether or not the Hoops will be at home, with half of the seeded sides hosting their second round ties and the other half on the road.
Looking at the seeding, St Mirren must win in 90 minutes to claim the last seeded spot. A draw in Paisley would see Ross County seeded, while a Dunfermline victory would see them progress and Queen's Park miss out.
From a Celtic point of view, they could be handed a tough all-Premiership tie against Dundee United, Kilmarnock or Dundee. Thus, they're probably hoping to face a lower division side, ideally at home.
When does the Scottish League Cup second round take place?
The League Cup second round fixtures take place on the weekend of the 15th and 16th of August. Last season, the Hoops' tie was brought forward to the Friday night to give them more time to prepare for their Champions League play-off tie, smashing Falkirk 4-1. It would not be a surprise if the same happened again.
This comes after Friday's news that the Celts have requested to postpone their Premiership clash with St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park in-between the two legs of the Champions League play-off. That match in Perth will now take place during a mid-week in September, depending on what UEFA competition the Hoops end up in. Thus, with that season-defining European tie looming large, the Hoops will be hoping for as kind a draw as possible on Sunday.
Add us as a preferred source on Google