Cape Town City are out to cement their status as Mother City big dogs, but PSL newbies Stellenbosch FC are keen to show they have more bite than bark.
After both sides drew their opening games ahead of Saturday’s derby, the stakes couldn’t be higher with pride and a log points up for grabs.
Hosts City come into the clash as Goliaths to Stellies’ Davids and they will be wary not to slip.
City stand-in coach Vasili Manousakis, who is expecting proud dad Benni McCarthy back in the dugout after the birth of his son on Tuesday, says they know what to expect from Steve Barker’s manne.
He says: “We got our hands on some footage and they are very organised and compact in defence typical Steve Barker side.
“It’ll be tough to break them down and it’s all about the counterattack with the pace of of [Iqraam] Rayners in behind.
“But we’ve spotted one or two areas that we can exploit.
“We just got to do what we’ve got to do.
“It’s a home game for us despite issues with stadiums, that’s all we are focused on and it’s a a derby, so it’s gonna be lekker for the fans.”
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— Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC)
Manousakis is not keen on making too many changes to the side that started in the 2-2 draw with Baroka on Saturday as they look to find their groove.
But while City have their plans, Barker wants his team to be more dynamic after playing off the back foot at Chippa last week.
Speaking after their top-flight debut, Barker tells IOL: “It was a difficult game for us.
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— Cape Town City FC (@CapeTownCityFC)
“Our opponents put us on the back foot for the most part of the game, so to return a clean sheet was a good effort.
“We showed character and good resilience and that gives me confidence going forward.
“Now we look for improvement before our next engagement against Cape Town City.
“That’s going to be a huge derby and one the players will be up for without me needing to motivate them.”
Weekend PSL fixtures:
Friday:
Maritzburg United v Highlands Park (8pm)
Saturday:
Polokwane City v AmaZulu (3pm)
CT City v Stellenbosch (6pm)