Cape Town City coach Jan Olde Riekerink jokingly hopes that Mamelodi Sundowns striker Kermit Erasmus shows his former team ‘a little empathy’ when they square off on Wednesday evening.

The Citizens are set to welcome the defending champions to Cape Town City when they lock horns in the DStv Premiership with both teams unbeaten in their first two league games of the season.

However, Erasmus, who was City top-goalscorer last season with 14 goals from 27 appearances across all competitions, will take on his former team for the first time since joining the Brazilians before the start of the 2020-21 season.

Riekerink is well aware of the threat Erasmus poses but is confident his side can contain the Bafana Bafana international.

‘Sundowns, it is a top club and they have a lot of new players but I think we are in a very good mood and we have a very good vibe in the team so I think we are ready to compete,’ Riekerink told the media.

‘Obviously, Kermit is a fantastic guy and everybody will love to see him back and, of course, he is a goalscorer and we will miss the goals. But we have some players who can fill that gap and other players have to stand up show themselves. We have Tashreeq [Morris], Fagrie [Lakay] and we have Prince who is not completely ready to play physically because he came very late. So, we have options.

‘When you play against players who played for your team, it is normal and I think that won’t affect [anything]. Maybe I hope that he feels a little empathy for us [laughs].’