Scottish League Cup PREVIEW 11 Sep 2026: Stenhousemuir Chase Another Cup Shock, This Time Against Hearts

Hearts travel to Ochilview Park for a quarter-final short-handed. Oisin McEntee is out with a calf injury picked up in Sunday's win over Dundee, when he was withdrawn at half-time, though he could be back for Tuesday's league trip to Falkirk. Wouter Vrancken is also without Ageu, Tom Renaud, Malachi Fagan-Walcott, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley; of those, Fagan-Walcott, Kingsley and Ageu are closer to a return but more likely to feature after the international break. "A lot of games, so it's always managing fatigue," Vrancken said. "The only player who didn't train is Oisin. So he will be out and the rest is able to play." Nineteen-year-old James Wilson, with three goals in his last five appearances, is expected to keep his attacking role.

Stenhousemuir reached this stage by beating Motherwell 1-0, Euan O'Reilly scoring in the 114th minute of extra time, and Marvin Bartley was in no mood to undersell it: "So many people were writing us off, and it was our duty to go out and prove them wrong." Bartley, who managed Livingston before dropping down to take this job, has not been beaten since he arrived: Stenhousemuir are unbeaten after nine matches in all competitions, top of the Championship on thirteen points from five with two goals conceded, and he was named the division's manager of the month for August. Midfielder Andrew Shinnie, who scored the goal that won it at Livingston last week, believes a side drawn mostly from youth will test Hearts' resolve. The winners reach the semi-final, a round Hearts have not made since a 3-1 defeat by Rangers in 2023-24.