Scottish League Cup: Thrilling match at Fir Park, goals from Dylan Tait and chance from Jimmy Thelin

The only full Premier League tie – and probably the least predictable – is between Dundee United and Motherwell on Friday night, a clash between two clubs looking to end a decades-long League Cup drought.

United have not won the League Cup since beating city rivals Dundee in the 1980 final. Motherwell have to wait even longer, having last won the trophy in 1950, when they beat Hibernian.

Since the last time they reached the final, neither team has progressed beyond the quarter-finals.

Seven years ago, Motherwell beat Aberdeen 3-0 before knocking out Rangers in the semi-finals and failing to beat Celtic.

Two years earlier, United beat Hibernian on penalties after a 3-3 draw, defeated Aberdeen in the last four but also lost to Celtic in the final.

Celtic were also Wells’ nemesis when the Lanarkshire side and United last reached the quarter-finals two years ago, with the visitors from Glasgow winning 4-0 while the Tangerines lost 2-1 in Kilmarnock.

The current teams enter the quarter-finals on Friday hoping to bounce back from defeats in the top division, which ended a three-game winning streak.

Stuart Kettlewell’s home side suffered a 2-1 defeat at Aberdeen, while Jim Goodwin’s United saw their impressive run of eight games without defeat ended with Rangers’ narrow win at Tannadice.

The recent encounters will also not be decisive for Friday’s outcome, as United have won the championship for a full season, having lost their last meeting 3-2 at Fir Park. United had already won the game a month earlier.

Their knockout games are also often exciting. In November 2014, United won 2-1 at Fir Park in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup, while Alan Gow’s goal was enough to send home team Motherwell through to the semi-finals of the League Cup in October 2010.

Another exciting match is scheduled to take place under the floodlights of Fir Park.