# 2020–21 Scottish League Cup group stage

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 seeds | Second seeds | Unseeded |
| 01. St Johnstone 02. Hibernian 03. Ross County 04. Heart of Midlothian | 05. Dundee United 06. Inverness CT 07. Dundee 08. Arbroath | 09. 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 seeds | Second seeds | Unseeded |
| 21. Livingston 22. Kilmarnock 23. St Mirren 24. Hamilton Academical | 25. Ayr United 26. Dunfermline Athletic 27. Greenock Morton 28. Alloa Athletic | 29. 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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | HOM | RAI | ICT | EFI | COW |
| 1 | Heart of Midlothian | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 12 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | — |
| 2 | Raith Rovers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | | — | — | p3–3 | 2–1 | — |
| 3 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | | — | — | — | 1–0 | p0–0 |
| 4 | East Fife | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 | | 2–3 | — | — | — | 2–0 |
| 5 | Cowdenbeath | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — |

#### Matches
### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | HIB | DUN | COV | BRO | FOR |
| 1 | Hibernian | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | +7 | 12 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 4–1 | — | 3–1 | — |
| 2 | Dundee | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round | — | — | 3–0 | — | 3–0 |
| 3 | Cove Rangers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | −3 | 5 | | 1–2 | — | — | — | 1–0 |
| 4 | Brora Rangers | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 2 | | — | 0–2 | 2–2p | — | — |
| 5 | Forfar Athletic | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 2 | | 0–1 | — | — | p3–3 | — |

#### Matches
##### Notes

* ^ A: Dundee were awarded a technical 3−0 win over Forfar Athletic who were unable to raise a team after a player tested positive for COVID-19.

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STJ | DUN | PET | KEL | BRE |
| 1 | St Johnstone | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 10 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 0–0p | — | — | 7–0 |
| 2 | Dundee United | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 8 | | — | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | — |
| 3 | Peterhead | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 | | 1–3 | — | — | — | 3–1 |
| 4 | Kelty Hearts | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | | 1–2 | — | 1–1p | — | — |
| 5 | Brechin City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | −15 | 0 | | — | 2–6 | — | 0–2 | — |

#### Matches
### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ROS | ARB | ELG | STI | MON |
| 1 | Ross County | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 11 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | — |
| 2 | Arbroath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round | — | — | 3–0 | — | 3–1 |
| 3 | Elgin City | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 6 | | 1–4 | — | — | 2–0 | — |
| 4 | Stirling Albion | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 3 | | — | 1–2 | — | — | 2–1 |
| 5 | Montrose | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | −5 | 1 | | 3–3p | — | 0–2 | — | — |

#### Matches
## South
### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DNF | FAL | KIL | CLY | DUM |
| 1 | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 12 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 2–0 | — | 3–2 | — |
| 2 | Falkirk | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round | — | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | — |
| 3 | Kilmarnock | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 6 | | 0–3 | — | — | — | 2–0 |
| 4 | Clyde | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 3 | | — | — | 0–2 | — | 3–2 |
| 5 | Dumbarton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | | 0–1 | 0–4 | — | — | — |

#### Matches
##### Notes

* ^ B: Falkirk were awarded a technical 3−0 win over Kilmarnock who were unable to raise a team after six players tested positive for COVID-19.

### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AYR | ANN | STR | HAM | ALB |
| 1 | Ayr United | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 8 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 1–0 | p1–1 | — | — |
| 2 | Annan Athletic | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 7 | | — | — | 1–1p | 3–1 | — |
| 3 | Stranraer | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | | — | — | — | 2–1 | 2–2p |
| 4 | Hamilton Academical | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | | 2–1 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| 5 | Albion Rovers | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 15 | −10 | 2 | | 2–5 | 1–5 | — | — | — |

#### Matches
##### Notes

* ^ C: Hamilton Academical were awarded a technical 3−0 win over Albion Rovers who were unable to raise a team after one player tested positive for COVID-19 and two players had to self-isolate.

### Group G

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STM | QOS | PAR | GMO | QPK |
| 1 | St Mirren | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 10 | Qualification for the Second round | — | — | 4–1 | p1–1 | — |
| 2 | Queen of the South | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 7 | | 2–2p | — | 0–0p | — | — |
| 3 | Partick Thistle | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 7 | | — | — | — | p0–0 | 2–0 |
| 4 | Greenock Morton | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | | — | 2–2p | — | — | 1–0 |
| 5 | Queen's Park | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 7 | −6 | 0 | | 0–1 | 1–3 | — | — | — |

#### Matches
### Group H

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LIV | ALO | EDI | AIR | STE |
| 1 | Livingston | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 3 | +12 | 12 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 2–1 | — | 4–1 | — |
| 2 | Alloa Athletic | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round | — | — | 2–1 | — | 4–2 |
| 3 | Edinburgh City | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | −4 | 4 | | 1–5 | — | — | — | 2–2p |
| 4 | Airdrieonians | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | | — | 0–2 | 0–1 | — | — |
| 5 | Stenhousemuir | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 2 | | 0–4 | — | — | 0–2 | — |

#### Matches
## Best runners-up

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | E | Falkirk | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round |
| 2 | D | Arbroath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round |
| 3 | B | Dundee | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round |
| 4 | H | Alloa Athletic | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round |
| 5 | C | Dundee United | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 8 | |
| 6 | A | Raith Rovers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | |
| 7 | F | Annan Athletic | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 7 | |
| 8 | G | Queen of the South | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 7 | |

## Qualified teams

| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Notes |
| Heart of Midlothian | Group A Winner | 10 November 2020 | Seeded for the second round |
| Hibernian | Group B Winner | 14 November 2020 | Seeded for the second round |
| St Johnstone | Group C Winner | 14 November 2020 | |
| Ross County | Group D Winner | 14 November 2020 | |
| Dunfermline Athletic | Group E Winner | 14 November 2020 | Seeded for the second round |
| Ayr United | Group F Winner | 14 November 2020 | |
| St Mirren | Group G Winner | 14 November 2020 | |
| Livingston | Group H Winner | 14 November 2020 | Seeded for the second round |
| Arbroath | Best 4 Runners Up | 14 November 2020 | |
| Falkirk | Best 4 Runners Up | 14 November 2020 | |
| Alloa Athletic | Best 4 Runners Up | 14 November 2020 | |
| Dundee | Best 4 Runners Up | 14 November 2020 | |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alan Forrest | Livingston | 5 |
| 1 | Manny Duku | Raith Rovers | 5 |
| 1 | Stevie May | St Johnstone | 5 |
| 4 | Robert Thomson | Alloa Athletic | 3 |
| 4 | Liam Buchanan | Alloa Athletic | 3 |
| 4 | Euan Murray | Dunfermline Athletic | 3 |
| 4 | Blair Henderson | Edinburgh City | 3 |
| 4 | Callumn Morrison | Falkirk | 3 |
| 4 | Craig Wighton | Heart of Midlothian | 3 |
| 4 | Stevie Mallan | Hibernian | 3 |
| 4 | Josh Mullin | Livingston | 3 |
| 4 | Oli Shaw | Ross County | 3 |
| 4 | Ross Stewart | Ross County | 3 |
| 4 | Jonathan Obika | St Mirren | 3 |
Source: