THE BETFRED CUP EXPLAINED

The SPFL announced today the First Round Group Stage Draw will take place live on BT Sport from 7.30pm this Friday, 27 May.

How does the Betfred Cup Group Stage work though? 

• Teams will be drawn into eight groups of five teams, on a seeded basis.
• Each group is made up of one top seed, one second seed and three unseeded clubs.
• Round-robin format on each of 16, 20, 23, 27 and 30 July (Subject to live broadcast selection).
• Three points for a win and one point for a draw, with drawn matches in the Group Stage going straight to penalty shoot-out with the winner receiving a bonus point.
• Eight group winners and four best runners up progress and are joined by SPFL's four UEFA qualifying clubs.

So who could we get?

We will play one of the following top seeds from the North region: St Johnstone, Ross County, Inverness CT or Dundee. We will play three of the following unseeded clubs from the North region: Dunfermline Athletic, Alloa Athletic, Peterhead, Brechin City, East Fife, Cowdenbeath, Forfar Athletic, Elgin City, Stirling Albion, Montrose, Arbroath and Cove Rangers. The competition concludes with the Betfred Cup Final at Hampden Park on Sunday, 27 November.