The Scottish Communities League Cup third-round draw has handed St Johnstone an all-SPL clash with St Mirren at Perth.
Dundee United will travel to face Airdrie United, while East Fife’s reward for knocking out Dunfermline is another clash with a top-flight club, this time Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
John Robertson’s men don’t have happy memories of the trip north, having lost there 6-0 in the Scottish Cup last season.
St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes said: “We were seeded for the draw so getting an SPL side is a bit tougher, but it is a home tie and that’s what we had hoped for.”
Arguably the most eye-catching of the ties is Ross County versus Celtic and defender Charlie Mulgrew believes the Hoops have been handed the ideal opportunity to exorcise the ghosts of their last meeting with the Dingwall club.
Celtic were famously dumped out of the Scottish Cup in April 2010 by the Highlanders, who booked their place in the final at Hampden with a 2-0 win and left Neil Lennon’s men facing the prospect of ending the season without a single trophy.
Lennon was interim boss at the time following the departure of Tony Mowbray, and Mulgrew insists a lot has changed since that shock defeat.
He said: “It was a disappointing day for the club. But it’s a different team, the manager has been a bit longer in the job now. It will be at the back of a couple of players’ minds but we will just take it as another game and we will go up there and get a result.”
The full draw St Johnstone v St Mirren, Ross County v Celtic, Kilmarnock v Queen of the South, Falkirk v Rangers, Motherwell v Hibernian, Ayr United v Heart of Midlothian, Aberdeen v East Fife, Airdrie United v Dundee United.
The matches will be played on Tuesday September 20, or Wednesday September 21.