Cove Rangers open their campaign on Tuesday against Clyde, having been inactive at the weekend. The Aberdeen club went full-time this summer following their relegation from the Championship, which is a statement of intent as they seek to win a place back in the second tier, and with a difficult start looming in the league season, the League Cup is an ideal opportunity to build some momentum.

Cove showed promise in a weekend friendly against Premiership new boys Dundee, although they were narrowly beaten by the top-flight club due to a goal midway through the second half. Paul Hartley’s side showed that they are still very much a work in progress as they named five trialists in the starting XI, yet they should have enough quality in their ranks to overcome League Two Clyde.

The Bully Wee were relegated from League Two via the playoffs last season and are under new management. If Cove Rangers are still under construction, Clyde have barely got their foundations down. Although they ran Hamilton close at the weekend in a 3-1 defeat, they had only two outfield substitutes on the bench. A part-time club, they will struggle to turn around their squad quickly to face fresh opponents, particularly after a long trip north.

In any case, there is already a deficit of quality in this team, which appears equipped to finish midtable in the second tier but no better. In particular, they are without a scoring threat, having lost key attacker Ross Cunningham to Kelty in the summer.

Cove might lack the scoring power to win this game by a big margin, but they should be too good for Clyde.

East Fife finished the 2022/23 season impressively and began the new season in good form via a victory over Queen’s Park at the weekend via a penalty shootout. That success means that the Fife side suddenly stand a realistic chance of qualification from the group stage, but it does mean that this is a match they have to win.

Greig McDonald’s side are in good shape to do so. They already have their squad for the season put together and can call upon some good options from the bench should they wish to rotate. Nathan Austin, in particular, is fresh after not getting a single minute at the weekend – and he has the potential to be their best player this season. Furthermore, with no match on Saturday, the Fifers will not need to shuffle their squad unnecessarily.

Elgin, on the other hand, lost 2-0 at home to Motherwell in a predictably one-sided match. If they finished last season painfully slowly, they have started the new campaign in similarly poor form, losing friendlies against non-league Huntly and Banks O’Dee, as well as suffering a heavy defeat against Inverness.

It may well be that the northerners treat their remaining League Cup matches as an extension of their pre-season after their opening loss, which is positive news for East Fife. The hosts won all four fixtures between these clubs last season, scoring at least twice on every occasion, while they have six wins in their last eight against the Black and Whites.

Dunfermline opened their season impressively at the weekend as they edged Raith Rovers on penalties after a fixture that finished 1-1 through normal time. The Pars now have a terrific chance to qualify for the knockout phase and will benefit from their full-time status as they welcome Annan to East End Park on Tuesday.

James McPake’s side went undefeated at home last season, with their last loss over 90 minutes in front of their home support coming way back on May 7, 2022. At times last season, they struggle to put teams away, drawing eight of 18 in the league, but the addition of Michael O’Halloran this season should bring them an additional creative spark that they lacked at times last term.

Certainly, Annan, who won promotion from League Two to League One via the playoffs last term, are unlikely to provide too stout opposition. The Borderers began their season by losing easily against Kilmarnock away from home, and the challenge of playing two strong full-time sides in the space of four days is likely to be one that is too great for them. Peter Murphy’s side are short on numbers, with only four outfield replacements for the trip to Rugby Park.

This will be the first meeting of these sides in nine years, with Dunfermline winning the two previous encounters. Indeed, the Pars won 5-1 the last time Annan travelled to East End Park, and a similarly comfortable evening is forecast here. The Pars can be backed at 2 with a handicap of -1, but playing it safe and going for the straight home victory is the pick for this game.