Scottish League Cup PREVIEW 16 Aug 2026: Scottish League Cup: Holders St Mirren Travel to Ibrox

St Mirren, the Scottish League Cup holders, travel to Ibrox to face Rangers in the last 16 on Sunday (16:00). St Mirren won the trophy in December 2025, beating Celtic 3-1 in the final, their second League Cup and first trophy in twelve years, but almost went down the same season, finishing eleventh in the Premiership and needing a play-off win over Partick Thistle to stay up. This time round they reached the last 16 the harder way, topping Group C with nine points from wins over East Kilbride, Dumbarton and Cove Rangers, then losing 1-0 at home to Dunfermline Athletic on the final matchday, 26 July, and taking the group on goal difference anyway. Rangers, along with Celtic, Hearts, Motherwell and Hibernian, were exempt from the group stage as European qualifiers. It is a first home cup tie of the new season for Derek McInnes, appointed Rangers manager on 17 June 2026 after leading Hearts to second place last term, with a squad rebuilt around Lawrence Shankland, Cammy Devlin and Ross McCrorie among the summer arrivals.

Hearts host Inverness Caledonian Thistle at Tynecastle, both sides reshaped since last season. Hearts, also exempt to this stage as Europa League entrants, go in under new head coach Wouter Vrancken following a wholesale summer rebuild that saw captain Lawrence Shankland and midfielder Cammy Devlin both leave for Rangers. Hearts went out at the same second-round stage of this competition last season, beaten by St Mirren on penalties after a 1-1 draw - the team that went on to lift the trophy. Inverness arrive as newly-crowned League One champions, the first League One title in the club's history, and having come through Premier Sports Cup Group F unbeaten with 11 points from four games, five goals scored and one conceded, beating St Johnstone, Linlithgow Rose and Greenock Morton and edging East Fife on penalties.

Hibernian, exempt to the second round as Conference League entrants, welcome Partick Thistle to Easter Road. Partick reached the League Cup quarter-final last season before losing 4-0 to Celtic, and were Championship runners-up before losing the promotion play-off final to St Mirren. Their route through this season's group stage included a 6-0 win over Brechin City at Firhill, alongside shootout defeats to both Stenhousemuir and Livingston after drawing 2-2 and 1-1 respectively.

Stenhousemuir host Motherwell at Ochilview Park in their first season in the second tier since 1974/75. Stenhousemuir topped Premier Sports Cup Group E unbeaten, winning shootouts against both Partick Thistle and Livingston, under new manager Marvin Bartley, who took over on 9 June 2026 after leaving Livingston following their Premiership relegation. Motherwell, who reached the League Cup semi-final and finished fourth in the Premiership last season, were seeded straight into the last 16 and go into the weekend on the back of a Conference League qualifying win over HJK Helsinki, 3-1 on aggregate after a 2-0 second leg at Fir Park, under new head coach Alfred Johansson.