Premier Sports Cup: Hibs and Aberdeen among top seeds for group stages, when is the draw, how to watch

The SPFL has confirmed the five seeding pots for the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw.

The seven Premiership clubs not competing in Europe next season – namely Ross County, Livingston, Hibs, St Mirren, Aberdeen, St Johnstone and newly-promoted Kilmarnock – as well as relegated Dundee will make up the top eight seeds.

The other four pots will involve the remaining 37 SPFL clubs from last season’s Championship, League One and League Two, plus Highland League champions Fraserburgh and Lowland League champions Bonnyrigg Rose and is based on final league placings from 2021-22.

The final slot will be taken by Highland League runners-up Buckie Thistle as the Lowland League were granted the extra place last season.

The eight group winners and three best runners-up will join Celtic, Rangers, Hearts, Dundee United and Motherwell in the last 16 at the end of August as the five clubs who qualified for Europe next season have been given a bye.

This season’s Premier Sports Cup will abandon the previous regionalised format after six years of the North/South split in the group stage. One club from each pot will be drawn into Groups A to H with the first round of fixtures taking place on the weekend of July 9-10.

The draw takes place on Wednesday, May 25, at 1pm and will be shown live by Premier Sports via their FreeSports channel, which is available on Freeview HD channel 65, Sky HD channel 422, Virgin HD 553, TalkTalk 64, BT Vision channel 64 and is also available via Samsung TV Player and on the FreeSports Player.

Full seeding pots and club numbers:

The 2022-23 Premier Sports Cup group stages get underway on the weekend of July 9-10. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

Pot 1 – 1 Ross County, 2 Livingston, 3 Hibernian, 4 St Mirren, 5 Aberdeen, 6 St Johnstone, 7 Dundee, 8 Kilmarnock.

Pot 2 – 9 Arbroath, 10 Inverness Caledonian Thistle, 11 Partick Thistle, 12 Raith Rovers, 13 Hamilton Academical, 14 Morton, 15 Ayr United, 16 Dunfermline Athletic.

Pot 3 – 17 Queen of the South, 18 Cove Rangers, 19 Airdrieonians, 20 Montrose, 21 Queen's Park, 22 Alloa Athletic, 23 Falkirk, 24 Peterhead.

Pot 4 – 25 Clyde, 26 Dumbarton, 27 East Fife, 28 Kelty Hearts, 29 Forfar Athletic, 30 Annan Athletic, 31 Edinburgh City, 32 Stenhousemuir

Pot 5 – 33 Stranraer, 34 Stirling Albion, 35 Albion Rovers, 36 Elgin City, 37 Cowdenbeath, 38 Bonnyrigg Rose Athletic, 39 Fraserburgh, 40 Buckie Thistle.