Citizens desperate to turn the corner against Arrows

Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler will be looking to ease growing concerns over their recent poor form when Golden Arrows visit the Cape Town Stadium on Sunday, April 28.

Kick-off is at 5.30pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)

Current form:

The Citizens have dropped out of contention for a top-two finish after failing to register a single win in the second half of the season.

A 2-2 draw with Polokwane City at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium on April 21 extended City's winless run in the DStv Premiership to eight matches in 2024.

Tinkler's side trail Stellenbosch (2nd) by nine points in seventh place and they realistically face competition from six other clubs to finish in the top eight.

Abafana Bes'thende are one of the teams in the mix as the gap between them and the Mother City outfit stands at just three points.

Arrows bounced back from the 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Orlando Pirates by playing out to a 1-1 draw with local rivals Royal AM in Hammarsdale on April 20.

Steve Komphela's side remain without a win in their last three outings, although the point against Thwihli Thwahla took them above Kaizer Chiefs into eighth position.

Siyanda Mthanti has emerged as an important player for Komphela, who believes the 20-year-old winger's skillset is becoming increasingly valuable against opponents that set up with a low block defensively.

What was said:

Cape Town City head coach Eric Tinkler

"[Our recent form is a] Massive concern. Obviously, it is a concern. We are a very ambitious club that wants to achieve things.

"Now, we have to go back and look at our next game against Golden Arrows. But the efforts against Polokwane City in our last game were much better.

"It was something I wanted to see from the players, they put in the effort, some of the games they haven't."

Golden Arrows head coach Steve Komphela

"He (Mthanti) comes from our youth system, but the profile suits where he is playing. Where you say, go wide, exploit one-on-ones. Because coaches are so organised now, they form a block, so who is going to unlock them?

"You need one-on-one players who are capable of dribbling. Sgwiji [Mthanti] is like that. Look at Real Madrid's [block], they sit 10 players inside the box, what do you do? You need a Sgwiji to dribble, you need a Rivaldo, create a penalty, whatever.

"Because players that are just playing one one-two's, those schemes can be predicted and in a block, they anticipate how the ball will move. So Sgwiji helps us in that regard."

Players to watch:

Cape Town City - Khanyisa Mayo ended a five-game barren spell with his goal against Rise And Shine and the 25-year-old striker will be hoping for a repeat of last season's run-in when scored five times in his last six appearances to jointly win the Golden Boot. He is one behind Tshegofatso Mabasa and Lucas Ribeiro in the scoring charts after bagging his 10th goal of the campaign last weekend.

Golden Arrows - Lungelo Nguse is enjoying a fine debut season at Arrows after making the switch from University of Pretoria in July 2023. The 25-year-old striker is the club's top scorer this term with six goals, although the majority of his 17 appearances have come from the bench. He did start in the stalemate with Royal AM after scoring in back-to-back games against SuperSport United and Pirates as a substitute.

Head-to-Head: (Last Five DStv Premiership Meetings)

Matches - 5

CT City wins - 3

Arrows wins - 0

Draws - 2