Old Firm at Ibrox: Premier Sports Cup Quarter-Final Draw Serves Up Rangers v Celtic
Rangers will host Celtic at Ibrox in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals after the draw was made on the evening of Sunday 16 August, setting up Derek McInnes' first Old Firm derby as Rangers manager on home turf.
McInnes earned his first win since taking the Rangers job in emphatic fashion — a 5-1 demolition of holders St Mirren that knocked the trophy holders out and booked Rangers' place in the last eight. That result teed up the tie every Scottish football fan looks for first when the draw comes out of the hat: Rangers against Celtic, the fixture known as the Old Firm, the two Glasgow giants whose rivalry has shaped Scottish football for over a century.
The draw was conducted at Ibrox and broadcast live on Premier Sports, as confirmed by the SPFL. It carved the remaining eight teams into four quarter-final ties, all to be played across the weekend of 12–13 September. (BBC Sport)
Beyond Ibrox, the draw threw up an all-Premiership clash: Kilmarnock against Aberdeen. Kilmarnock were the first team through to the quarter-finals, beating Ayrshire neighbours Ayr United in a five-goal thriller, while Aberdeen secured their place with a comfortable 3-0 win over Dundee at Pittodrie. (BBC Sport)
League Two side Stenhousemuir are the draw's giant-killers in waiting. They beat Motherwell in extra time to reach this stage and now host Hearts — a side two divisions above them — at Ochilview. Ross County complete the line-up, hosting Hibernian in Dingwall after County beat Dunfermline 2-1 in the previous round. Celtic, meanwhile, arrive in the last eight on the back of a 4-0 thumping of Dundee United at Tannadice. (BBC Sport)
One detail adds spice to the Old Firm meeting. McInnes' first taste of the fixture as Rangers boss was originally scheduled for Celtic Park on Sunday 20 September in league action, but that match was moved across the city to Ibrox. So the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final, also at Ibrox, gives McInnes back-to-back home fixtures against Celtic in the space of a week — an unusual and potentially pivotal start to his reign in the dugout. (BBC Sport)
The last-16 round had brought together eight group winners and the three best runners-up, joined by the five Scottish Premiership sides who entered at that stage: Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Dundee United and Motherwell. (Aberdeen FC)
For the teams still standing, the path beyond September is already mapped out. The semi-finals are scheduled for the weekend of 31 October to 1 November, with the final set for Sunday 13 December. (SPFL)
What makes this draw crackle is the variety. A potential classic at Ibrox, two Premiership sides slugging it out at Rugby Park, a League Two team daring to dream against top-flight opposition, and a Highland meeting under the Dingwall lights. Four ties, eight teams, and the season's first piece of silverware creeping into view.
