SPL cup final: Facts & figures

In the 1952/53 season they were beaten 2-0 by Dundee in front of 51,830 at the national stadium. They made it back to Hampden in the 1960/61 campaign but again lost 2-0, this time to Rangers. Hearts were the winners in 1962, with Norrie Davidson the scorer in a 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock. The fourth League Cup final defeat came in 2001, a 3-0 loss to tomorrow’s opponents, while the most recent was in 2007 – Killie at least scored a goal on that occasion but Hibs ran out emphatic 5-1 winners.

• Nine players have scored hat-tricks in the League Cup final – five more than have been managed in the Scottish Cup final, which started 72 years earlier.

Davie Duncan (East Fife) was the first to bag a treble in the 4-1 win over Falkirk in 1948 and he was followed by Hearts’ Willie Bauld (v Motherwell, 1955) and Celtic’s Billy McPhail (v Rangers, 1957).

Jim Forrest of Rangers (who scored a record four v Morton in 1964), Celtic’s Bobby Lennox (v Hibs, 1968), Celtic’s Dixie Deans and Joe Harper of Hibs both scored three in the Celtic’s 6-3 win (1974), Ally McCoist of Rangers (v Celtic, 1984) and Henrik Larsson of Celtic – against Kilmarnock (2001).

Celtic’s Gary Hooper is best-priced 16-1 to become the tenth player to join that club.

• Celtic’s 7-1 win over Rangers on October 19, 1957 is the biggest win in a major British cup final.

• Only three finals have ended goalless after 90 minutes; East Fife v Falkirk in 1947/48, Dundee United v Aberdeen (1979/80) and Celtic v Rangers (2008/09). You can have 16-1 on 0-0 tomorrow.

• Rangers manager Ally McCoist has more winner’s medals – nine – than any other player, all with the Ibrox club. He was also in the side which lost 2-1 to Aberdeen in 1989/90 and was an unused substitute when Kilmarnock lost 3-0 to Celtic in 2001.

• Kilmarnock are aiming to become the lucky 13th club to win the trophy, joining Rangers, East Fife, Motherwell, Dundee, Hearts, Aberdeen, Celtic, Partick Thistle, Hibs, Dundee United, Raith Rovers and Livingston.

• Celtic and Rangers have both won the League Cup twice in the same year. Celtic beat Hibs 6-2 on April 5, 1969 and then beat St Johnstone 1-0 on October 25 to retain it the following season.

Rangers beat Celtic 3-2 on March 25, 1984 and then won 1-0 against Dundee United on October 28 to hold on to the trophy.

• The Scottish government is the competition’s sixth sponsor after Bell’s (1979-81), Skol (1984-92), Coca-Cola (1994-97), CIS Insurance (1999-2008) and Co-operative Insurance (2009-2011).

• Kilmarnock have sold 12,000 tickets for tomorrow’s final – 2,000 less than they sold for their derby win over Ayr United in the last four. “It’s the first time I can remember a team selling more tickets for a semi-final than a final,” said a Scottish League spokesman.