Depleted Cape Town City wary of Kaizer Chiefs, Nurkovic threat

Cape Town City coach Jan Olde Riekerink is taking nothing for granted as the Premier Soccer League side prepare to host strugglers Kaizer Chiefs, with Samir Nurkovic's impact a notable concern for him.

City failed to win any of their last two outings —a 3-2 loss to Swallows FC and a 2-2 draw against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila— while Chiefs recorded a morale-boosting 1-0 win over AmaZulu in midweek.

Prior to that, the Cape Town side had been unbeaten in five consecutive league matches and had been outside favourites for the PSL title.

Regardless of the huge difference in the form of the two teams, Riekerink is particularly wary of the threat posed by Nurkovic, with City set to be without centre-backs Taariq Fielies (due to suspension) and Abbubaker Mobara (due to a hamstring injury) for Saturday's game at the Cape Town Stadium.

''It's a top club, a top team in South Africa [Chiefs], so it doesn't matter which position they are in the league, at the end they will come back,'' Riekerink told the media.

''We see it even from abroad, at Barcelona the first phase of the competition they struggled, but at the end, they will be at the place where the quality of the players is.

''So, it's going to be a challenging game for us, we have played two away games, it was a long trip. I think Swallows had a good team, I think TTM, we were 2-0 ahead and I think we gave it away by creating a penalty out of nothing, and TTM got their hope back and they finally scored the equalizer.

''We lost two points, but in the end, we are still in a good position. I hope we are ready although a few players are not available.

''And what impressed me the most [against AmaZulu] is the defensive organization of Chiefs, that improved a lot and of course that Nurkovic is back and he will be the guy to score the goals. A lot of times that's an important part of the game, the goalkeeper and striker help a lot.

''A striker is an important part of the team; you cannot deny that Ibrahimović sometimes decides the games. Haaland, we see in Germany, those guys, if you have a goalscorer it helps, it says not everything [does not solve everything] but it helps.

''If you have a good goalkeeper it helps also if you have one who stops and one who scores the balls it helps you win games.''

Riekerink is expected to field a depleted squad with Mobara compounding the Citizens' injury crisis.

''[Edmilson] Dove of course is a long-term injury, Aubrey [Ngoma] is long-term and we have suspended players,'' added the Dutch tactician.

''Tashreeq [Morris] is suspended, Tarra [Fielies] is suspended, and Mobara has a hamstring tear so I think that will take a few weeks to comebacks so we will have some changes in the team.

''We have to see [about the Covid-19 returnees Mpho Makola and Thabo Nodada].

''Obviously, they tested negative and have joined the group, but we have to see because some players struggle with the physical abilities because it affects some players more than other payers.

''So, players must be negative, but they must also be able to play, and that we will see in our last training.''

New signing Justin Shonga will also miss the encounter.