The 2020–21 Scottish League Cup Group stage took place from 6 October 2020 to 15 November 2020. A total of 40 teams competed in the group stage. The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the four best runners-up progressed to the second round (last 16) of the 2020–21 Scottish League Cup.
Format The group stage consisted of eight groups of five teams. The four clubs competing in the UEFA Champions League (Celtic) and Europa League (Rangers, Motherwell, and Aberdeen) qualifying rounds were given a bye through to the second round. The 40 teams taking part in the group stage consisted of the other eight teams that competed in the 2019–20 Scottish Premiership, and all of the teams that competed in the 2019–20 Scottish Championship, 2019–20 Scottish League One and 2019–20 Scottish League Two, as well as the 2019–20 Highland Football League and the 2019–20 Lowland Football League champions.
The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the four best runners-up, progressed to the second round (last 16), which included the four UEFA qualifying clubs. At this stage, the competition reverted to the traditional knock-out format. The four group winners with the highest points total and the clubs entering at this stage were seeded, with the four group winners with the lowest points unseeded along with the four best runners-up.
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.
The draw for the group stage took place on 10 August 2020 and was broadcast live on FreeSports & the SPFL YouTube channel.
Teams North Seeding Teams in Bold qualified for the second round. Top seedsSecond seedsUnseeded01. St Johnstone 02. Hibernian 03. Ross County 04. Heart of Midlothian05. Dundee United 06. Inverness CT 07. Dundee 08. Arbroath09. 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 Source:
South Seeding
Top seedsSecond seedsUnseeded21. Livingston 22. Kilmarnock 23. St Mirren 24. Hamilton Academical25. Ayr United 26. Dunfermline Athletic 27. Greenock Morton 28. Alloa Athletic29. 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
Source:
North
Group A
Matches
Group B
Matches
Notes
Group C
Matches
Group D
Matches
South
Group E
Matches
Notes
Group F
Matches
Notes
Group G
Matches
Group H
Matches
Best runners-up
Qualified teams TeamQualified asQualified onNotesHeart of MidlothianGroup A Winner10 November 2020Seeded for the second roundHibernianGroup B Winner14 November 2020Seeded for the second roundSt JohnstoneGroup C Winner14 November 2020Ross CountyGroup D Winner14 November 2020Dunfermline AthleticGroup E Winner14 November 2020Seeded for the second roundAyr UnitedGroup F Winner14 November 2020St MirrenGroup G Winner14 November 2020LivingstonGroup H Winner14 November 2020Seeded for the second roundArbroathBest 4 Runners Up14 November 2020FalkirkBest 4 Runners Up14 November 2020Alloa AthleticBest 4 Runners Up14 November 2020DundeeBest 4 Runners Up14 November 2020
Top goalscorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Alan ForrestLivingston5 Manny DukuRaith Rovers Stevie MaySt Johnstone4 Robert ThomsonAlloa Athletic3 Liam BuchananAlloa Athletic Euan MurrayDunfermline Athletic Blair HendersonEdinburgh City Callumn MorrisonFalkirk Craig WightonHeart of Midlothian Stevie MallanHibernian Josh MullinLivingston Oli ShawRoss County Ross StewartRoss County Jonathan ObikaSt Mirren
Source:
References
External links Scottish Professional Football League – League Cup official website