# 2023–24 Scottish League Cup group stage

The 2023–24 Scottish League Cup group stage was played from 15 to 30 July 2023. A total of 40 teams competed in the group stage. The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the three best runners-up progressed to the second round (last 16) of the 2023–24 Scottish League Cup.

## Format

The competition begins with eight groups of five teams; with each team playing one match only against each other team in the group, either home or away, for a total of two home and two away matches. The five clubs initially competing in the UEFA Champions League (Celtic and Rangers), Europa League (Aberdeen) and Europa Conference League (Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian) qualifying rounds receive a bye to the second round. The group stage consists of 40 teams: all remaining teams that competed across the SPFL in 2022–23, the 2022–23 Highland Football League champions (Brechin City) and 2022–23 Lowland Football League champions (The Spartans). Unlike previous seasons where the remaining group stage spot was given to the runners-up of the Highland League or Lowland League, Cowdenbeath – who finished 15th in the Lowland League, having been relegated from Scottish League Two in 2022 – accepted an invitation to participate.
The winners of each of the eight groups, as well as the three best runners-up, will progress to the second round (last 16). At this stage, the competition reverts to the traditional knock-out format. The three group winners with the highest points total and the European entrants will be seeded.
The traditional point system of awarding three points for a win and one point for a draw is used; however, for each group stage match that finishes in a draw, a penalty shoot-out takes place, with the winner being awarded a bonus point.
The draw for the group stage took place on 8 June 2023 and was broadcast live on Viaplay & the SPFL YouTube channel.

## Teams

The teams were seeded according to their final league positions in 2022–23 and drawn into eight groups, with each group comprising one team from each pot.

### Seeding

Teams in Bold qualified for the second round.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
| 01. St Mirren 02. Motherwell 03. Livingston 04. St Johnstone 05. Kilmarnock 06. Ross County 07. Dundee United 08. Dundee | 09. Ayr United 10. Queen's Park 11. Partick Thistle 12. Greenock Morton 13. Inverness Caledonian Thistle 14. Raith Rovers 15. Arbroath 16. Hamilton Academical | 17. Cove Rangers 18. Dunfermline Athletic 19. Falkirk 20. Airdrieonians 21. Alloa Athletic 22. Queen of the South 23. Edinburgh City 24. Montrose | 25. Kelty Hearts 26. Clyde 27. Peterhead 28. Stirling Albion 29. Dumbarton 30. Annan Athletic 31. East Fife 32. Forfar Athletic | 33. Stenhousemuir 34. Stranraer 35. Bonnyrigg Rose 36. Elgin City 37. Albion Rovers 38. Brechin City 39. The Spartans 40. Cowdenbeath |
Source:

## Group stage

All times are BST (UTC +1).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AYR | STI | STJ | STE | ALL |
| 1 | Ayr United | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 11 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | — | 1–0 | 6–0 |
| 2 | Stirling Albion | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 10 | Qualification for the second round | 1–1p | — | — | 2–1 | — |
| 3 | St Johnstone | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | | 1–2 | 0–4 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Stenhousemuir | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–3 |
| 5 | Alloa Athletic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 3 | | — | 1–2 | 0–4 | — | — |

#### Matches
### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PAR | FAL | DUN | SPA | PET |
| 1 | Partick Thistle | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 9 | Qualification for the second round | — | 2–2p | — | 2–1 | — |
| 2 | Falkirk | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 8 | | — | — | 0–1 | — | 4–1 |
| 3 | Dundee United | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | | 1–2 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| 4 | The Spartans | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 | | — | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | — |
| 5 | Peterhead | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | −7 | 1 | | 1–1p | — | — | 1–2 | — |

#### Matches
### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | LIV | HAM | COV | BRE | CLY |
| 1 | Livingston | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | +9 | 10 | Qualification for the second round | — | 1–1p | — | — | 1–0 |
| 2 | Hamilton Academical | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 | | — | — | 2–2p | 1–0 | — |
| 3 | Cove Rangers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 8 | | 0–5 | — | — | — | 5–2 |
| 4 | Brechin City | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | −4 | 3 | | 0–3 | — | 2–3 | — | — |
| 5 | Clyde | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 11 | −7 | 0 | | — | 1–3 | — | 1–2 | — |

#### Matches
### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | ROS | GMO | KEL | STR | EDI |
| 1 | Ross County | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 10 | Qualification for the second round | — | 2–1 | 3–3p | — | — |
| 2 | Greenock Morton | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 9 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | — | 3–0 | 4–1 |
| 3 | Kelty Hearts | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 9 | +2 | 8 | | — | 1–3 | — | 2–0 | — |
| 4 | Stranraer | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11 | −8 | 3 | | 1–5 | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| 5 | Edinburgh City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 14 | −8 | 0 | | 1–3 | — | 3–5 | — | — |

#### Matches
### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AIR | DND | DUM | ICT | BON |
| 1 | Airdrieonians | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 | 12 | Qualification for the second round | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | — | — |
| 2 | Dundee | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | | — | — | 3–1 | 1–0 | — |
| 3 | Dumbarton | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 5 | | — | — | — | 2–1 | p0–0 |
| 4 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | | 2–3 | — | — | — | 2–1 |
| 5 | Bonnyrigg Rose | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 1 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | — | — | — |

#### Matches
### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | KIL | RAI | DNF | ALB | ANN |
| 1 | Kilmarnock | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 10 | Qualification for the second round | — | 2–2p | — | — | 3–0 |
| 2 | Raith Rovers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | 1–1p | 2–0 | — |
| 3 | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 8 | | 0–2 | — | — | — | 4–0 |
| 4 | Albion Rovers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | −5 | 3 | | 1–2 | — | 0–3 | — | — |
| 5 | Annan Athletic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 12 | −9 | 0 | | — | 2–3 | — | 1–2 | — |

#### Matches
### Group G

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | MOT | QOS | EFI | QPA | ELG |
| 1 | Motherwell | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 11 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | — |
| 2 | Queen of the South | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 8 | | 3–3p | — | 0–0p | — | — |
| 3 | East Fife | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 7 | | — | — | — | p0–0 | 3–1 |
| 4 | Queen's Park | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 | | — | 1–2 | — | — | 5–0 |
| 5 | Elgin City | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | −11 | 0 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | — | — |

#### Matches
### Group H

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | STM | FOR | ARB | MON | COW |
| 1 | St Mirren | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | +8 | 9 | Qualification for the second round | — | 4–0 | 4–0 | — | — |
| 2 | Forfar Athletic | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 | | — | — | 3–1 | — | 1–0 |
| 3 | Arbroath | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 | 5 | | — | — | — | 3–0 | p1–1 |
| 4 | Montrose | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 5 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Cowdenbeath | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 2 | | 0–1 | — | — | 1–1p | — |

#### Matches
## Best runners-up

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | A | Stirling Albion | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 10 | Qualification for the second round |
| 2 | D | Greenock Morton | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 9 | Qualification for the second round |
| 3 | F | Raith Rovers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 | Qualification for the second round |
| 4 | C | Hamilton Academical | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 | |
| 5 | E | Dundee | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | |
| 6 | H | Forfar Athletic | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 9 | |
| 7 | B | Falkirk | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 8 | |
| 8 | G | Queen of the South | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 8 | |