Only Celtic switch up for Rangers Champions League congestion can soothe Premier Sports Cup fixture headache
Both Celtic and Rangers being handed home draws has given the SPFL a fixture headache.
Both entered the League Cup at the second round stage along with the other European qualifiers from the Premiership.
But it's the big two's Champions League qualifiers that could throw a spanner in the domestic works in terms of both playing in Glasgow on the same weekend.
Holders Celtic are at home to top flight new boys Falkirk while Russell Martin's side host Alloa Athletic at Ibrox on the weekend of August 16/17.
Gers take a 2-0 Champions League second round qualifying first leg lead to Athens this week, looking to finish the job against Panathinaikos.
Do so, and they will face either Servette or Viktoria Plzen in the third qualifying round.
It's not unthinkable that they will book a spot in the playoff round alongside their city rivals, leaving both 180 minutes away from the lucrative league phase.
The first legs of those ties will be played on Tuesday August 19 and Wednesday 20, with the Premier Sports Cup fixtures being played the weekend prior.
That's still a while away, but it won't be known if Rangers make it before the TV picks for the domestic cup clashes are made.
That rules out the Sunday with at least one of them set to play on the Tuesday, and assuming Police Scotland don't go for staggered kick-offs on Saturday August 16, then the most obvious solution at this stage looks like Celtic hosting the Bairns on Friday 15.
There is a precedent for both to kick-off on their own respective patches at the same time, however.
July 2022 saw the Light Blues host Tottenham Hotspur in the friendly while Norwich City were across town at Celtic Park.
Both games kicked off at 3pm on the same day in the same city - which was the first time that had happened since January 1999.
Just under 38,000 watched Rangers beat Stenhousemuir 2-0 in the Scottish Cup while over 42,000 were at Parkhead to see the Hoops see off Airdrie 3-1.
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