Cape Town City are eyeing a first ever cup final when they host Free State Stars in a Telkom Knockout semi-final clash at Athlone on Saturday.
City booked their spot in the semis with extra time wins over Bloemfontein Celtic (2-0) and Baroka FC (3-2), while Stars beat Bidvest 3-1, also in extra time, and then edged out Kaizer Chiefs on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
The newly-formed Mother City club have enjoyed an excellent first season in the top flight and currently occupy second position on the table after 10 games played.
Ea Lla Koto on the other hand are having a tough season in the league and currently prop up the standings.
But Cape Town City captain Lebogang Manyama, who has netted five times in ten league games, says his side will not be taking Stars lightly.
"League form does not count in cup games, a cup game is always 50/50. Stars are a strong team and better than their league form suggests, they will be hard to beat and we'll have to be at our best," he said.
Stars coach Giovanni Solinas is hoping that the distraction of the cup is a good thing right now for his side.
"We need to put the energy into this game and it is not the moment to think about the past two games," he told KickOff.
"We need to move forward and we need to stick together, move together and give our best for this game. But we're trying to give our best and we don't have too much time to prepare for this game because we have been traveling a lot but we will give our best."
The Cape side have two central defenders - Robyn Johannes and Tshepo Gumede, both out suspended while Matthew Sim is sidelined with injury.
Ea Lla Koto have no suspensions, while captain Paulus Masehe remains sidelined with a long-term injury.
