Cape Town City coach Jan Riekerink is excited about the prospect of playing in African club competition next season. The Dutch mentor can play in Africa next season if he wins the Nedbank Cup or secures a top-three finish in the DStv Premiership.

The Citizens will play against Bloemfontein Celtic in an all-Premiership affair in the last-32 of Ke Yona cup competition at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday at 5pm.

He said he is relieved that his team will not travel to Bloemfontein. 

The Citizens face a team which has reached two cup finals in the past five months. Last year, the Citizens got eliminated in the first round by  GladAfrica Championship opposition Mbombela United.

This time Riekerink says they want to go all the way and lift the trophy. They will go into the cup tie without the injured Thabo Nodada and Bradley Ralani.

"Celtic are a tricky opponent, but we are happy to play at home. We had a bad experience last year against Mbombela United away from home. It is better to play a Premiership team at home as you know what to expect. Celtic have a great team with great players. But the biggest benefit is that we are playing in Cape Town," explained Riekerink.

The Citizens are conceding too many goals as much as they are scoring them up front. They have scored 26 goals, but conceded 21.

However, the coach says their strength lies in the attack. "I don't mind winning 4-3 or 3-2. But we will try to improve our weakness of conceding too many goals. We have the kind of players that love to attack, and our strength is to score goals," said Riekerink.

Celtic lost to AmaZulu in a seven-goal thriller on Tuesday, and Riekerink said he watched them with keen interest. The Citizens drew 1-1 against Baroka in Limpopo in their previous league game. "We want to win the cup and play in Africa next season. It's also good for my CV," he added.