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Scottish Sun
28-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Premier Sports Cup group stage draw in FULL as first competitive clashes of 2025/26 season mapped out
Seven Premiership clubs are entering the competition at this early stage UP FOR THE CUP UP FOR THE CUP Premier Sports Cup group stage draw in FULL as first competitive clashes of 2025/26 season mapped out THE curtain has only literally come down on the Scottish football season. But the early part of NEXT season has already been mapped out by the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw. 3 Celtic are the holders of the Premier Sports Cup Credit: Getty 3 Derek McInnes' first competitive Hearts games will take place in the competition Credit: PA 3 East Kilbride and Mick Kennedy will get an early season taste of SPFL opposition Credit: Michael Schofield, News Group Newspapers Ltd As has now become the norm, the coveted competition kicks-off in mid-July. That means an early start to the campaign for several of the Scottish Premiership's big hitters. The five top flight clubs playing in Europe won't enter until the next round, but for the other seven they'll get underway right from the off. Derek McInnes' career as Hearts boss will get underway in the Premier Sports Cup, with his first competitive game in charge taking place in this competition. St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Motherwell are also among the clubs entering here. SPFL newcomers East Kilbride will test themselves against some higher level opposition, while Highland League champions will face TWO top flight clubs in their group. Here's the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw in full. What teams have been drawn to face each other in the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw? Group A: Falkirk, Queen's Park, Cove Rangers, The Spartans, Brechin City Group B: Ross County, Partick Thistle, Queen of the South, Edinburgh City, Stranraer Group C: Dundee, Airdrieonians, Alloa Athletic, Montrose, Bonnyrigg Rose Group D: St Mirren, Ayr United, Arbroath, Annan Athletic, Forfar Athletic Group E: Hearts, Dunfermline Athletic, Hamilton Academical, Dumbarton, Stirling Albion Group F: St Johnstone, Raith Rovers, Inverness CT, Elgin City, East Kilbride Group G: Motherwell, Greenock Morton, Stenhousemuir, Peterhead, Clyde Group H: Kilmarnock, Livingston, Kelty Hearts, East Fife, Brora Rangers How does the Premier Sports Cup group stage work? 40 teams are taking part in the group stage The clubs have been drawn into eight groups of five teams from seeded pots one to five All SPFL clubs take part in the group stage apart from the five Premiership clubs competing in European competition (Celtic, Rangers, Hibs, Dundee United and Aberdeen) Bonnyrigg Rose, who were relegated out of the SPFL last season via the play-offs, are taking part as well as the top two teams from the Highland League, Brora Rangers and Brechin City Each team will play their group opponents once, with two games at home and two games away All eight group winners will progress to the second round The three best-runners up will also advance to the second round with all other clubs eliminated from the competition As always, three points are awarded for a win and a point for a draw - but matches ending in a draw will see the teams take part in a penalty shoot-out with a bonus point awarded to the winners When does the Premier Sports Cup group stage take place? The first matchday will take place across the weekend of July 12/13 This will be followed by matches on the midweek of July 15/16, weekend of July 19/20 and the midweek of July 22/23 The final round of matches will he be held on the weekend of July 26/27 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Aberdeen vs Celtic LIVE SCORE: Schmeichel palms into own goal after Hoops led through Dorrington OG
JIMMY THELIN has tweaked his line up after some heavy defeats in this fixture UP FOR THE CUP UP FOR THE CUP Aberdeen vs Celtic LIVE SCORE: Schmeichel palms into own goal after Hoops led through Dorrington OG Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ABERDEEN are back on terms at Hampden in the last ten minutes in a game of TWO own goals. Celtic led through an Alfie Dorrington own goal as they chase an historic ninth treble - but Shayden Morris fired over a wicked cross and Kasper Schmeichel could only palm the ball into his own net. Sign up for the Celtic newsletter Sign up Celtic are bidding to complete a historic NINTH treble which would make Brendan Rodgers the first manager in green and white to win three trebles, surpassing Celtic's European Cup winning boss, Jock Stein. The Dons conceded 10 goals in their last two matches against Celtic, including a 5-1 home loss against a second-string Hoops side. Aberdeen are taking on Celtic TODAY, Saturday, May 2 at Hampden Park, Glasgow Don Robertson is the match referee with Greg Aitken on VAR Aberdeen vs Celtic is live on both the BBC and Premier Sports The Scottish Cup Final can also be streamed FREE live via the BBC Sport Scotland website and BBC iPlayer, while Premier Player subscribers can stream the match there Live radio coverage will be available on Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland Aberdeen XI: Mitov, Devlin, Knoester, Milne, Dorrington, Jensen, Shinnie, Clarkson, Palaversa, Keskinen, Nisbet. Subs: Doohan, MacKenzie, Polvara, Dabbagh, Gueue, Morris, Tobers, Boyd Mitov, Devlin, Knoester, Milne, Dorrington, Jensen, Shinnie, Clarkson, Palaversa, Keskinen, Nisbet. Doohan, MacKenzie, Polvara, Dabbagh, Gueue, Morris, Tobers, Boyd Celtic XI vs Aberdeeen: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Engels, Bernardo, Kuhn, Maeda, Idah. Subs: Sinisalo, Trusty, Yang, McCowan, Schlupp, Kenny, Forest, Ralston Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Aberdeen vs Celtic LIVE SCORE: Hoops eye historic NINTH treble in Scottish Cup final showdown vs Dons
The Hoops are chasing a clean sweep of trophies while the Dons will want to end a 35-year wait UP FOR THE CUP UP FOR THE CUP Aberdeen vs Celtic LIVE SCORE: Hoops eye historic NINTH treble in Scottish Cup final showdown vs Dons – latest team news ALL roads lead to Hampden today as Celtic bid to complete a historic NINTH treble - with Brendan Rodgers completing a remarkable THREE of them. Brendan Rodgers would also become the first manager in green and white to win three trebles, surpassing Celtic's European Cup winning boss, Jock Stein. 2 Both sides have already met at Hampden this year in the League Cup semi-final Credit: Kenny Ramsay 2 The Dons have to go back over a decade since they last touched silverware Opponents Aberdeen's season didn't go as planned, but the Dons still have a crack at silverware, the small task of Brendan Rodgers treble-chasing Celtic stand between them and the Scottish Cup. The Dons conceded 10 goals in their last two matches against Celtic, including a 5-1 home loss against a second-string Hoops side. Aberdeen star Mats Knoester has said that Celtic should be looked forward to, not something to be feared. Many thought that after the start of the season, Aberdeen could split the old-firm, and maybe even surpass them both, but Jimmy Thelin's side scraped into Europe in the end, finishing fifth. Nevertheless they have the chance to end their agonising 35-year wait for Scottish Cup glory and the manager is taking inspiration from Crystal Palace's shock victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final. And a former Dons midfielder has also enjoyed success this season with Lewis Ferguson skippering Bologna to the Coppa Italia and ending their 51-year wait. If Aberdeen are to pull off what almost seems like the unthinkable given Celtic's utter dominance over the Dons, they will have to find the sort of form which saw them come from 2-0 down at Parkhead earlier in the season to secure a point. SunSport has all you need to know ahead of the huge Scottish Cup Final at Hampden. What time does Aberdeen vs Celtic kick off? Aberdeen take on Celtic TODAY, Saturday, May 2. The match kicks off at 3pm UK time It'll be held at Hampden Park, Glasgow Don Robertson is the match referee with Greg Aitken on VAR Is Aberdeen vs Celtic on TV? Can I live stream it? Aberdeen vs Celtic is live on both the BBC and Premier Sports Coverage gets underway on BBC One Scotland and Premier Sports 2 at 2pm, an hour before kick-off The Scottish Cup Final can also be streamed FREE live via the BBC Sport Scotland website and BBC iPlayer, while Premier Player subscribers can stream the match there Live radio coverage will be available on Sportsound on BBC Radio Scotland You can follow every kick here on SunSport's LIVE match blog Aberdeen vs Celtic team news Dons defender Jack MacKenzie is set to be fit for the big Hampden clash. That's despite suffering a sickening head wound at Tannadice last weekend. MacKenzie was struck on the head by a chair thrown from the Dons section of the crowd in disgusting scenes after the defeat to Dundee United and required stitches. Celtic star Reo Hatate will miss the final after suffering a knee injury during the last meeting with Aberdeen on Scottish Premiership duty. Daizen Maeda will get a well-earned rest after the final with Aberdeen, as Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has revealed he has rested the electric forward for their World Cup qualifiers. Latest odds* Aberdeen 8/1 Draw 9/2 Celtic 1/4 *odds with PaddyPower at 14:00 May 23rd Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
