Yo-yo form, a masked man & pressure in semi-finals

Paul Hanlon, Graeme Shinnie, Lawrence Shankland and James Tavernier will be looking to captain their team to the final

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, 4 November Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

It's Viaplay Cup weekend, with four Premiership teams vying for a place in the final on 17 December.

Here's what to look out for in what are massive ties for all four clubs:

Summit to discuss Scotland's pyro problem

Games of the weekend

Usually, when we do this for the Premiership, we pick just one game to focus on, but both semi-finals are equally balanced and spectacles in their own right.

Hibernian v Aberdeen (Sat, 17:15 GMT)

Hampden's first semi-final presents two sides who have a history of challenging for silverware with an ideal chance to break free of the mid-table mediocrity of their current league form.

Fans from the north east will be wondering which Aberdeen team will turn up - the one that has competed so well in the Europa Conference League or the one that had gone four games without a win before blowing away hosts Motherwell 4-2 in midweek.

That victory lifted the Dons into the top six, one place and one point above Saturday's opponents with a game in hand after Hibs' followed a run of five games without defeat with five without a win.

New head coach Nick Montgomery will no doubt point out that four of those were draws, but consistency is obviously an issue judging from the latest two of those - a creditable goalless draw at home to league leaders Celtic being followed by a return to defensive fragility that allowed Ross County to come from two down to draw.

Hibs, though, are unbeaten in three meetings with Aberdeen and won 2-0 at Pittodrie in the latest of those in early September.

However, it has all the makings of a tight affair as Hibs look to end a 16-year wait to lift the League Cup for a fourth time while the Dons are eying a seventh trophy and their first since 2014.

Heart of Midlothian v Rangers (Sun, 15:00)

Hearts and Rangers converge on Hampden on Sunday hoping they are two steps away from ending their own long barren spells in the League Cup.

Considering the Ibrox side have lifted the trophy a record 27 times, their fans will think it is about time they ended a 12-year wait for another one.

They should try being among the long-suffering Hearts support. The last of the Edinburgh side's four League Cup triumphs came in October 1962!

Hearts have also had to endure a 10-game run without a victory over Rangers since progressing after a 1-0 Scottish Cup win in February 2020.

The latest of those came last weekend, when Hearts looked on the brink of ending a nine-year wait for a victory at Ibrox until two stoppage-time goals rescued three points for the hosts, who now sit 10 points and two places above in second spot in the Premiership.

Hearts have since beaten Livingston 1-0 at Tynecastle to end a three-game run without a victory, but Rangers are the form side having gone five without defeat, four under new manager Philippe Clement, with only a 0-0 draw away to Sparta Prague in the Europa League preventing a 100% record.

After the controversy surrounding the pyrotechnics that helped delay kick-off in Rangers' 5-0 thumping of Dundee at Dens Park on Wednesday, both sides will be hoping any 5 November 'fireworks' at Hampden are metaphorical with the talking points on the pitch.

Players to watch

Aberdeen - Graeme Shinnie

Graeme Shinnie is the only survivor from Aberdeen's last League Cup meeting, when the Dons won on penalties in September 2018 after a 0-0 draw.

While fellow midfielder Jamie McGrath captured the headlines with his double against Motherwell in midweek, it is the 32-year-old captain, back for a second spell at Pittodrie, who has led from the front in Aberdeen's best performances this season with his determination and drive.

Hibernian - Martin Boyle

Three current Hibs players started that last League Cup defeat by Aberdeen five years ago and could be key to the Leith side's success if they are to turn the tables on Saturday.

While veterans Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson have been in and out the starting XI as Montgomery tries to find consistency at the back, winger Martin Boyle remains a mainstay on his return to Easter Road without in recent weeks showing the form that made him such an exciting player for Australia and Hibs. Their chances of making the final will increase exponentially should the 30-year-old rise to the Hampden occasion against his hometown club.

Rangers - Danilo

Danilo has netted five times since joining Rangers

Danilo has been a slow burner since his big-money summer transfer from Feyenoord, but the masked man of Ibrox has come out of hiding in recent weeks.

Hampered by injury, most notably the fractured cheekbone suffered while scoring against St Johnstone, the 24-year-old has overcome the need to wear facial protection on his return to score two in two, including last weekend's dramatic league winner against Sunday's opponents, and emerge as his side's biggest goal threat.

Heart of Midlothian - Lawrence Shankland

Every time we write about Hearts in this context, it is hard to escape picking out Lawrence Shankland as their key man - and not just because he has shouldered the captaincy burden so well since Craig Gordon's long-term injury.

The 28-year-old striker has put an eight-game barren spell behind him to score twice in his latest three outings, including one against Rangers at Ibrox. However, the absence of Alex Lowry, who is unable to face his parent club, could be significant as that recent improvement has coincided with the creative on-loan Rangers midfielder becoming a regular starter.

Managers in the spotlight

Eight of Scotland's 12 Premiership clubs have appointed new managers in this calendar year - and St Johnstone are looking for their second. So Hampden glory could be the difference between success and failure in that precarious profession.

Aberdeen - Barry Robson

Barry Robson has eased some of the pressure on himself after three creditable Conference League performances and that midweek hammering of Motherwell.

With holders Celtic out of the competition, he will not want to be left thinking "what if" again, having revealed that his memory of his 2014 League Cup triumph as a player with Aberdeen is tainted by losing the Scottish Cup semi-final to St Johnstone.

Hibernian - Nick Montgomery

The jury is still out on Nick Montgomery's early tenure and this semi-final could be a crossroads. Defeat and the honeymoon period could be over, while securing a third League Cup final in nine years would go some way to winning over the doubters.

It's fair to say that the former Central Coast Mariners head coach is still finding his feet in Scottish football, but he has expressed his determination to stick to his attacking 4-4-2 formation despite some fan criticism.

Heart of Midlothian - Steven Naismith

Former Ibrox striker Steven Naismith will head to Hampden with a sense of hurt having been left raging by the late penalty that allowed Rangers to equalise last weekend at Ibrox.

He also talked on Friday about how close Hearts had been to cup glory in recent years and the need to take that next step. Indeed, this is the first League Cup meeting between the sides since Naismith came on as a substitute in a 3-0 semi-final defeat on 3 November 2019, a game started by five of the current Rangers squad and none of Hearts'.

Rangers - Philippe Clement

Philippe Clement has steered Rangers out of the choppy waters that engulfed predecessor Michael Beale and two late goals avoided what would have been a mini-crisis had they lost at home to their Hampden opponents last weekend.

However, the Belgian will realise that missing a golden opportunity to secure Rangers' first League Cup in 12 years with holders Celtic already out of the competition would not go down well with the fans or board.