Rangers will begin their Co-op Cup defence with a third-round tie at home to Dunfermline in September, while Celtic play host to Inverness.

Rangers captured the trophy last season with a dramatic 1-0 win over St Mirren at Hampden in March.

At Hampden on Tuesday, Celtic were drawn at home against Inverness, whom they beat 1-0 on the opening day of the Scottish Premier League season.

In another all-SPL clash, Hibernian travel to Kilmarnock, managed by former Easter Road boss Mixu Paatelainen.

Aberdeen get the chance for revenge when they take on Irn-Bru First Division side Raith Rovers at Pittodrie, the Kirkcaldy men having sensationally knocked the Dons out of the Scottish Cup after a replay last season.

Hearts, Dundee United and Motherwell face tricky away ties to lower league sides.

Jambos boss Jim Jefferies goes back to former club Falkirk, United take on Ross County, in what will be a repeat of last season’s Active Nation Scottish Cup final, while Motherwell travel north to Brechin City.

St Johnstone complete the draw with a home fixture against Queen of the South.

The ties will take place on Tuesday September 21 and Wednesday September 22.

League Cup third-round draw: Rangers v Dunfermline, Kilmarnock v Hibernian

Aberdeen v Raith Rovers, Falkirk v Hearts, Celtic v Inverness CT, Ross County v Dundee United, St Johnstone v Queen of the South, Brechin City v Motherwell.

Hearts manager Jim Jefferies sees Sunday’s visit of Dundee United as a chance for his side to prove they mean business in their top-three bid.

After last season’s sixth-place disappointment, Jefferies is targeting a return to European football this time around.

The early signs are promising for the Gorgie outfit after a draw against St Johnstone and last week’s 4-0 thrashing of Hamilton at New Douglas Park.

However, Jefferies knows United pose their first serious test of their European aspirations with the Tannadice outfit finishing third last term.

Jefferies said: “I would love to go into the international break after winning the game.

“Then you could say that there is now a base to kick on and do what we set out to do, and that’s to be at the right end of the table competing.

“People have been saying it’s a different Hearts side this year and that we’re going to be a difficult team to overcome, that’s a positive sign for us.

“The performance, attitude and application have been terrific and if we show that consistently you have more chance of getting results.

“This is probably a test the fact that everyone will be looking at Dundee United being away and this might be a chance.

“They were not third for nothing, they’re a decent side.”

Jefferies is set to welcome back Eggert Jonsson for his first league game after the Icelandic internationalist missed the opening two encounters through suspension.

Jonsson played as a centre-half in Tuesday’s Co-operative Insurance Cup win over Elgin City and Jefferies admits his versatility is giving him a headache.

He said: “Finding out his best positionis a problem. On the plus side he can play anywhere and I don’t think he minds that because at least he knows that if a place comes up in the team he’s in with a chance of playing there.”

United are still looking for their first win of the season but improved considerably following their 4-0 home defeat by Inverness as they drew 1-1 against AEK Athens on Thursday while exiting the Europa League.

Left-back Paul Dixon said: “Hearts isn’t an easy one. They’ve had a good result against Elgin in midweek and will be full of confidence.

“But we need to go there and give it 100%, work hard and hopefully get the result we need.

“We were embarrassed by the 4-0 defeat to Inverness, no matter who you lose to any 4-0 defeat is an embarrassing defeat especially at home in front of your own crowd.

“We’ll be looking to rectify that. We’ve not won yet but will just focus on what’s to come and won’t worry about what’s in the past.” Meanwhile, United will seek an explanation from UEFA over the debacle surrounding their second leg in Athens.

AEK’s Olympic Stadium pitch was deemed unplayable on Monday and the replacement venue was vandalised before the Greek side secured a deal to play in Olympiakos’s stadium about 24 hours before kick-off.

A United statement read: “While Dundee United has at all times behaved with integrity this week to make sure that our Europa League play off tie against AEK Athens went ahead, we have also felt duty bound to make various enquiries to ensure the club’s position was not compromised and that, for the sake of the competition, such events do not occur again. Our supporters are also due a full explanation, particularly in view of the circumstances they were faced with.

“We would like to make it clear that there are no grounds for an official protest. This was never considered as a serious option by Dundee United and this has been subsequently confirmed by legal advice and advice from the authorities.

“However, at the request of the SFA, we will be preparing a full report on the situation and difficulties presented to the club this week and this will be forwarded by them to UEFA for a detailed response.”

Hearts midfielder Eggert Jonsson wants to make Tynecastle a fortress once more as they prepare for Sunday’s visit of Dundee United.

The Edinburgh outfit won nine of their 19 home games in last season’s disappointing sixth-place finish in the Scottish Premier League and the Iceland international reckons a trip to the capital was less daunting than it used to be.

Hearts are looking to build on the momentum of their impressive start to the season. After drawing with St Johnstone on the opening day, they overcame Hamilton 4-0 last weekend before scoring four more against Third Division side Elgin in the Co-operative Insurance Cup on Tuesday night.

Hearts are keen to get back into Europe this season and Jonsson reckons they need to make the most of home advantage.

He said: “We are only three games into the season so it’s too early to say, but we want to be hard to beat and make Tynecastle a fortress like it used to be.

“Sometimes we didn’t manage to do that last season. Jim Jefferies came in as the new manager and the team is now set up the way he wants.

“Now I think we’re going to be more hard to beat and hopefully we can use our home advantage with the fans to make it a hard place to come.”

Jonsson played and scored in the 4-0 thrashing of Elgin in what was his first appearance of the season after missing the first two SPL matches due to suspension.

The versatile player cut a frustrated figure looking on from the stands against Saints and Accies but admits the promising performances have lifted his spirits.

He said: “It’s good to be back, I had to sit out the first two games and it was really hard but I’m glad to be back.

“It was to good to play on Tuesday night, it was a good result and the whole team has had a good start to the season so it’s great to be back in the mix again.

“It’s hard watching on if you’ve worked hard during the pre-season and then you can’t contribute to the team. The team has had a good start and that’s made it easier and I’m just glad to be back now.”

Rangers boss Walter Smith will not sign another striker this month despite losing new-boy Nikica Jelavic for the Champions League campaign.

Jelavic, who arrived at Ibrox this morning after being granted a work permit, is now ineligible for the tournament because Rapid Vienna reached the Europa League group stages with a 3-2 victory at Aston Villa.

The Croatian, who played in earlier rounds but refused to turn out in the Austrian club’s first leg against Villa, was baffled by the UEFA ruling, which deprives him of tests against Manchester United, Valencia and Bursaspor.

And Smith, who confirmed that defender Andy Webster remains out of Saturday’s SPL clash with St Johnstone due to a hamstring injury, admits Jelavic’s loss will be sorely felt.

“It is a bit of a blow for us, I must say,” Smith said. “Not just in terms of losing someone that we hope will do well for us in terms of goals and all-round play, but losing another jersey.

“We only have 18 lads who have played regularly in the first team, so to lose him is a blow – and Andy Webster’s ongoing injury situation as well.

“That cuts our squad down. We’ve got a decent squad but if we fall foul of injury, it may be a bit of a struggle for us.”

However, Smith will focus on other areas of the team if he has the funds to add to his squad before Tuesday night’s deadline.

James Beattie has also strengthened the club’s strike options this month while both Steven Naismith and Kyle Lafferty are keen to play in forward positions alongside Kenny Miller, who was this week handed a second contract extension offer.

“I don’t need someone in that position, we have plenty of cover for the forward position,” the former Scotland manager said.

“If we have to move someone up front, then we will obviously weaken another area in terms of numbers. That could be a big problem for us.

“If you look at Scottish teams going out, that’s six extra games to play in the first half of the season to any of our opposition.

“That’s a lot of games and a lot of midweeks that other teams don’t have to play.

“I would much prefer to have it than not have it, it’s not a complaint, but it will stretch us to our limit.”

Smith added: “We certainly don’t have a lot of money but we may have something to bring in one or two. I’m actually not quite sure about the financial situation at the minute.”

The vast majority of Smith’s budget went on Jelavic, who was banking on Champions League football this season.

Jelavic, who celebrates his 25th birthday today, revealed he had been encouraged by national team coach Slaven Bilic to sign for Rangers.

He added: “I expected to play in the Champions League but football is like this. I am also glad for them (Rapid), but I am sad.

“It is frustrating but what can I do now? I’m just focused on doing well in the championship.

“I prepared myself for something different, but this is football, you never know what is around the corner. Rapid were 2-1 down and scored two in two minutes.”

Jelavic hopes to play at Ibrox against Saints, who beat Rangers 4-1 at McDiarmid Park last term, but Smith is unsure.

“It’s been an awkward week, he had to stay at home and wait for the application to be successful, so he only arrived this morning,” Smith said. “We’ll see how he is in the morning.”

Rangers have begun their season with two victories but Smith will stress the dangers of complacency against Derek McInnes’ side.

“They gave us our heaviest defeat last season,” Smith said. “The games have all been extremely tough, Derek does well in terms of setting out his team and they have been aggressive in their approach – they don’t sit back and wait for things to happen. We need to be on top of our game.”

New Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic has been granted a work permit today by the Scottish Football Association, the club have confirmed.

Subject to paperwork being completed, the Croatia international could make his debut against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premier League at Ibrox on Saturday.

Jelavic agreed to move from Rapid Vienna to the SPL champions last Friday in a £4million deal.