Newly promoted Queen's Park will meet top tier stalwarts Motherwell at Firhill (their groundshare home with Partick Thistle until work on Lesser Hampden is completed) in what will be the first match of the visitors' 2021/2022 campaign in the Scottish League Cup. Read our preview here:

Biggar fish to fry

The Spiders kicked off the new season by heading to Dumfries & Galloway, where they triumphed over similarly named but higher division opposition in the guise of Queen of the South, courtesy of a superb strike by former Glasgow Rangers academy prospect Calum Biggar. The 19 year old midfielder is starting to show signs of the promise that kept him with the Old Firm outfit for so long, and with a lot of games coming up on the calendar in a small squad, manager Laurie Ellis will doubtlessly be utilising his talents more frequently this season. The 'Well will be a sterner test for the youngster and his teammates, who will also benefit from the television cameras being in situ.

Three bags Woolery

English lower league stalwart Kaiyne Woolery is one of five signings made by boss Graham Alexander, who is doubtlessly using his many contacts south of the border to help entice the plethora of free agents with the chance to shine for an established side at the summit of the Scottish pyramid. The ex-Tranmere Rovers wide forward had his best goalscoring season to date in his career last time out, reaching double figures whilst swapping roles from the half-space to being alongside the now retired James Vaughan. Other recruits have also been brought in to bolster the forward line; former Doonhammer Connor Shields also notched over 10 for QoS, and will provide competition for Woolery and Kevin van Veen, the latter of whom will be hoping to consign a very disappointing year with Scunthorpe United to oblivion, and he will reunite with Alexander at a new environment in North Lanarkshire.

'Well, 'Well, 'Well

Predicting the first game of any season is always difficult, and much more so in a cup competition. Nevertheless, the new faces under Alexander at Motherwell indicate he knows where needs bolstering the most if they're to compete for a place in the top half of the SPFL. Here, they should have too much for Queen's Park, and can be backed at 1.95 with bet365 to be winning at half-time and full-time.