Cape Town City coach Benni McCarthy says he will freshen up his squad against Free State Stars to deal with their demanding fixture schedule, writes DYLAN APPOLIS.

The Citizens will be high in confidence heading into their league encounter against Ea Lla Koto following their 1-0 victory over Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 semi-final first leg at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday.

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The Mother City outfit will now enter the semi-final second leg with a one-goal advantage over Sundowns, which is scheduled for 2 September.

Speaking on their trip to Stars on Wednesday, McCarthy admits that Cape sides tend to struggle when traveling to Atteridgeville, but believes his side can snatch three points away from him to keep the likes of Bloemfontein Celtic and Bidvest Wits on their toes at the top of the league table.

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‘When you play Free State Stars away, you have to go through the ugly travel,’ McCarthy said.

‘It’s not pleasant. We have to fly to Johannesburg and then a five-hour bus trip to get to Bethlehem. It’s probably the main reason why not many Cape teams win at Free State Stars.

‘But coming off a high (the win over Sundowns) we will treat Stars as another Cup final. The three points on offer is our bread and butter – we have to make sure that we stay in touch with the high-fliers in the PSL, like Bloem Celtic and [Bidvest] Wits. I will freshen the team up and make some changes; not too many changes, though, because I don’t want to disrupt the continuity of the team.’

The Citizens are currently placed seventh in the Absa Premiership standings after claiming four points their first three games so far this campaign.

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Cape Town City will next travel to Atteridgeville when they take on Free State Stars in the Absa Premiership on Wednesday with kick-off set for 7:30pm.