CT City tackle wounded PLK City
Cape Town City will take on Polokwane City in an Absa Premiership match at the Cape Town Stadium on Friday. Kick-off is at 8pm.
The Citizens have now recorded two successive defeats in the league after losing 1-0 to Orlando Pirates at the FNB Stadium on Tuesday.
The defeat left City placed ninth on the league standings with six points from four games. They are five points behind log leaders Golden Arrows, who have played five games.
Meanwhile, Polokwane are coming off their third consecutive loss in the league after suffering a 3-2 defeat to Free State Stars at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on Tuesday.
The narrow defeat sees Rise and Shine placed 14th on the league standings with four points from five games. They are only two points above the relegation zone.
Possible starting line-ups:
Cape Town City: Walters, Mkhize, Johannes, Gumede, Seedat, Putsche, Matsi, Lakay, Nodada, Patosi, Majoro.
Polokwane City: Chigova, Tshilo, Tshehla, Mbonani, Hlongwane, Jacobs, Seabi, Mngomezulu, Maluleke, Ramagalela, Tlolane.
Head-to-Head
ALL LEAGUE RESULTS
Season Result Scorers
2016/17 CTC 2-0 Polokwane Jayiya, Ngoma
2016/17 Polokwane 4-2 CTC Maluleke, Semenya, Mbonani, Mngomezulu; Ngoma, Majoro
LEAGUE RECORD (since 2016/17)
Home P W D L GF GA
CTC 1 1 0 0 2 0
Polokwane 1 1 0 0 4 2
Away P W D L GF GA
CTC 1 0 0 1 2 4
Polokwane 1 0 0 1 0 2
Total P W D L GF GA
CTC 2 1 0 1 4 4
Polokwane 2 1 0 1 4 4
What are the teams saying
Cape Town City coach Benedict 'Benni' McCarthy:
"Although we have lost two matches, it's not time to panic yet because there are teams that are worse off than me, at least I have four wins under my belt as a coach," he said.
"We were up against two good football sides in Kaizer Chiefs and Pirates, and things don't always go your way in football.
"At the end of the day we lost‚ so now it’s back to the drawing board for us and the next challenge for us is Polokwane City at home.”
Polokwane City coach Bernard Molekwa:
"We have put ourselves in this situation. So, we need to find our way out of it when we take on Cape Town City on Friday," he said.
"We gave them (Free State Stars) three gifts of goals in the first-half like we did against Bloemfontein Celtic and Ajax Cape Town. We made defensive errors. It's now up to us."
Key Players
Cape Town City
Robyn Johannes: The experienced defender continues to be a pillar of strength in the City team. The 31-year-old commanding central defender will be eager to lead his side to victory over Polokwane at home.
Ayanda Patosi: The attacking midfielder is City's chief orchestrator and he is the link between their exciting midfield and attack. The 24-year-old attacker surely has the ability to inspire the Citizens to victory and end their winless streak.
Polokwane City
Sammy Seabi: The central midfielder is the shield in front of the Polokwane defence and he is oozing with confidence after scoring against Free State Stars. The 22-year-old midfielder will be hoping to play an important role as his side beat the Citizens.
Walter Musona: The Zimbabwean striker, who is highly-rated by the Polokwane technical team, also scored against Stars. The 21-year-old marksman will now look to score again, and help his side return to winning ways.