Cape Town City will be hoping to continue from where they left off against Mamelodi Sundowns in the bio-bubble when the sides meet tomorrow (Cape Town Stadium, 7.30pm).

But the Citizens head coach, Jan Riekerink, admitted that his side had not recovered from losing their deadly striker Kermit Erasmus, who joined the Tshwane-based team at the end of the 2019-20 season. 

Since the Bafana Bafana international left the Citizens, he scored one goal in his team’s 3-0 victory over Kaizer Chiefs two weeks ago.

When the Citizens defeated the defending champions 3-2 at Loftus Versfeld in the bio-bubble, the Bafana Bafana international scored two goals and won the man-of-the-match accolade.

“Sundowns are a quality opposition with quality players. But we are in a good mood to cause an upset. There is a good vibe in the team, and we are ready to match them pound-for-pound,” said Riekerink.

But when the Dutch tactician got asked about the Erasmus factor, he said he would love to see him back at the club. “Kermit is a fantastic guy, and everybody would love to see him back here. He is a top goal scorer, and obviously, we will miss his goals. It is time for other players to step up and fill the gap. Fagrie Lakay has to step up. The ball is in his court now. But I hope that Kermit will not be on top of his game against us tomorrow,” said the 57-year-old.

The Citizens are fourth on the log table with four points from two games. They will hope to extend their unbeaten start to the season against Downs. The Citizens have won four matches, lost twice, and drew one game in their eight meetings in the league. Sundowns are second on the log with four points from the same number of games.

The Citizens registered a 1-0 win over Maritzburg United in their previous league game, while Downs were frustrated with a goalless draw against Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila in Pretoria.