League Cup quarterfinals

By: Ian Rose | October 28th, 2008

From the 42 clubs that entered the 62nd annual Scottish League Cup, there are eight remaining, and after this week’s round, there will be only the four semifinalists. I say “will”, because, mercifully, there are no replays in League Cup play - all games will be decided if they are played at all.

Here are the matchups:

Dundee United v. Dunfermline
The only match not covered by Offside blogs, and the only one to include a lower-division side. The Pars of Dunfermline have always produced good Cup runs, but a trip to Tannadice to face an in-form United will test them. United have had their share of troubles on the road this season, but have been strong at home, and should handle the Pars in this one.

Falkirk v. Inverness CT
Preview
Caley have made three quarterfinals in this competition and never made it farther, but given Falkirk’s horrific start, this might be their chance. Both sides need the momentum of a Cup win, even if they could use the midweek fixture off to heal.

Rangers v. Hamilton Academical
Preview
Cup holders Rangers play Accies for the second time in four days, after coming from behind to beat them 3-1 on Saturday. Can’t see this being too different, given how far Hamilton has slid from their season-starting form.

Kilmarnock v. Celtic
Preview
Celtic fans surely count this as the fourth-most-important competition the team plays in, but now that they’re two games from a final, even they’ll start to be more excited about the prospect of another trophy. Killie have been the surprise winners of the season, and might just have it in them to pull off another shocker here if the Celts are too distracted by other matters. More importantly, they’ll believe that they can, so this should be a good match.