Ayr United are flying the flag for the Championship today.

David Hopkins' team were second best in the Ayrshire derby at Kilmarnock and then had to recover from 2-0 down to draw at home with Arbroath in the league.

In the group stage of this competition, they recovered from a stalemate at Albion Rovers to see off Hamilton Accies, Falkirk and Edinburgh City.

In six home Championship meetings with Dundee United between 2016 and 2020, Ayr lost just once and won three of those.

Motherwell have enjoyed a whale of time against Dundee of late, winning eight on the bounce.

A 10-match unbeaten run for the Steelmen in this fixture includes six successive victories at Dens Park.

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This one is a repeat of last season's semi-final, which was settled by an early Scott Robinson goal.

Livingston would lose on the big day, with Shaun Rooney and St Johnstone hogging all of the cup final headlines in 2020-21.

The West Lothian side have never really recovered, winning just once in the league since that February defeat.

This term has started with reverses against Rangers and Aberdeen, which is certainly no disgrace, but their only wins in the group stage of this tournament came against Brechin and Cowdenbeath, losing to Alloa and drawing with Raith Rovers.

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Dundee United sold striker Lawrence Shankland to Belgian side Beerschot this week and moved quickly to replace him with Marc McNulty.

Or does it not count as a replacement since McNulty is back for a second season on loan at Tannadice?

It might mean he will spend more time in a central position since he was often shunted out wide in support of Shankland. He's on the bench today but play him as a proper number nine and there should be a significant increase on the five goals he got last time.

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Dundee: Legzdins, Elliot, Fontaine, Ashcroft, Marshall, McGhee, Adam, Byrne, McMullan, Cummings, McCowan.

Substitutes: Lawlor, Sharp, Sweeney, Jakubiak, McGowan, McDaid, Robertson, Panter.

Motherwell: Kelly, Grimshaw, Ojala, Lamie, Carroll, Donnelly, Maguire, Slattery, Woolery, Lawless, Shields.

Substitutes: Fox, Mugabi, Johnston, McGinley, O'Connor, O'Hara, Crawford, Amaluzor, Watt.

Livingston: Stryjek, Devlin, Obileye, Fitzwater, Longridge, Holt, Pittman, Sibbald, Bailey, Forrest, Anderson.

Substitutes: Barden, Kelly, Bartley, Jacobs, Shinnie, Panayiotou, Reilly, Hamilton.

St Mirren: Alnwick, Fraser, Shaughnessy, Dunne, Tait, Tanser, Kiltie, McGrath, Erhahon, Main, Brophy.

Substitutes: Lyness, McCarthy, Finlayson, Flynn, MacPherson, McAllister, Henderson, Erwin, Jack.

Ayr United: McAdams, Houston, Baird, Fjortoft, Muirhead, Reading, Murdoch, Maxwell, Hewitt, McKenzie, Adeloye.

Substitutes: Albinson, McGinty, McAllister, Miller, Chalmers, Smith, Salkeld, O'Connor, Afolabi.

Dundee United: Siegrist, Smith, Mulgrew, Edwards, Robson, Fuchs, Harkes, Sporle, Pawlett, Clark, Watson.

Substitutes: Carson, Reynolds, McNulty, Hoti, Neilson, Freeman, Mochrie, Newman, Duffy

Just the three matches in the fourth tier today...

Cowdenbeath v Stranraer is off due to the hosts having a number of players self-isolating.

Edinburgh City beat Stenhousemuir last night thanks to a goal from on-loan Hibs striker Ryan Shanley.

Forfar Athletic and Kelty Hearts are the only sides with six points from their first two games, so something has to give at Station Park.

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As we reach week three in League 1, no team can boast a 100% record and no team is yet to get off the mark.

Dumbarton and Queen's Park remain unbeaten and meet today, while pre-season favourites Airdrie and Falkirk go head-to-head.

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Having suffered three defeats on the trot and an early exit from Champions League qualifying, Rangers eased back to winning ways with a 5-0 thumping of Dunfermline last night.

John Lundstram, Scott Wright and Ianis Hagi all scored inside the first 20 minutes, with Kemar Roofe grabbing a double.

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There's a lot more love for the Scottish League Cup these days as we enter the knockout phase.

Clubs may not get rich but at least the competition has a sponsor and the big boys realise you need to win this one to complete the set. It also offers the prospect of a grand day out at Hampden in December, now that days out are a thing again.

Rangers are already through after a big win last night and we have three more ties this afternoon, with five Premiership sides in action.

Image source, BBC Sport