Our soccer analyst predicts how the PSL clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City will unfold on Tuesday 19 December 2017.
Any logical thinking should deem Sundowns the PSL champions in the waiting, as they are six points clear at the summit of the standings with two games in hand. The rampant juggernaut trounced Bloemfontein Celtic 4-1 the last time out to stretch their unbeaten run in the league to seven games. On the other hand, Benni McCarthy’s City ended their four-match winless run this past weekend, courtesy of a hard-fought 1-0 victory over AmaZulu.
Mamelodi Sundowns v Cape Town City | Tuesday 19 December | Loftus Versfeld | 19:30
To Win Match
Sundowns 8/10 | Draw 24/10 | CT City 34/10
Mamelodi Sundowns
The only team to deny Pitso Mosimane’s men maximum points in the last seven games is Chippa United who held them to a goalless draw. The Brazilians have won nine of their 13 league games so far this season. A victory over the Capetonians would see them go nine points clear of second-placed Kaizer Chiefs with a game in hand.
Percy Tau who has six goals to his name in the current campaign has been on the menace recently, producing a couple of Man of the Match performances and Cape Town City should find a way to nullify his lethal runs behind defences. He is very dangerous in one-on-one situations with defenders and his intelligence comes in handy when combination play with Themba Zwane has to come to the fore.
Sundowns also have revenge in their minds as Cape Town City did the double over them last season. The Citizens recorded a 2-1 victory in Pretoria and won the second leg 1-0 in Cape Town. The second match was a source of much intrigue as it somewhat extinguished Sundowns hopes of catching up with Bidvest Wits in the title race and Mosimane was highly critical of City’s overreliance on counter attacks after the game.
Cape Town City
The Citizens have been enduring a rough patch recently with only one win in the last five matches. The victory couldn’t have come at a better moment as they sought a morale boost ahead of encountering arguably the biggest team in the country. Coach McCarthy praised his players for digging deep after the game and even hinted that he would play to grind out a victory at Sundowns as opposed to playing beautiful football.
Aubrey Ngoma’s return from injury has inspired the team to better performances with his attacking capabilities. Last season’s Telkom Knockout Player of the Tournament has earned high praise from his coach who looks to now build the team around him. Teko Modise will be facing his former team for the first time and he will look to make an impact especially after the revelations he made about the sour relationship he had with his former coach, Mosimane, in his autobiography – The Curse of Teko Modise.
If City win this match they will climb up to second on the log and four points off the pace but doing that away from home against a team that’s playing like a well-oiled machine is a really tough task.
Verdict: Mamelodi Sundowns 8/10
This will be a thrill-packed encounter but City has shown signs of lacking big match temperament against SuperSport United in the MTN8 final as well as league encounters with Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. My money is on Mamelodi Sundowns.
