CT City v Supersport Betting Guide by OptaJabu

Supersport and Cape Town City meet this weekend in the DSTV Premiership, both in desperate need of a positive result following a frustrating last few weeks out in the field. The two sides have fallen out of league contention having both promised so much at the start of the season, even though Supersport can take solace in that they stayed in the race a bit longer. Ahead of their weekend clash, we dug through the numbers to bring more context to what could be billed as a clash of the underperformers.

Never in their five year top-flight history have Cape Town City lost a home match to Supersport in any competition, winning three and drawing three of the six matches they have hosted between the sides. The only difference this time is that they are hosting while they are in the middle of their worst ever form as a club.

8 – City have now gone eight league games without a win (D5 L3, since February), their longest such run in their top-flight history.

Coming at a time when former coach Benni McCarthy is leading AmaZulu to their best ever run as a club, the contrast must hurt. Yet, if there is one person that is glad Benni is not in the opposing dugout this weekend, it is Kaitano Tembo. He has failed to win any of his eight matches against Benni McCarthy in his coaching career (D3 L5, all competitions), the longest he’s gone without a win against any PSL coach. However, the absence of Benni may not matter, given Supersport’s own woeful form. Joint-top of the table on the 25th of January, Matsatsantsa have since won eight points out of a possible 24, sliding down the table as a result.

What Happened to City’s Goals?

In the 30-game PSL era (2002/3 onwards), only 12 different sides have scored 26+ goals at the half-way stage of a league season (384 different sides have participated in the competition if you count Cape Town City 2016/17, City 2017/18 etc. as different sides). Earlier this season, Cape Town City 2020/21 joined that club to become just the 13th.

And then, the goals dried up. In the first 13 matches of the season, City managed to score a whopping 25 goals, averaging almost 2 goals per game. But they have scored 5 goals in eight games since, and have not scored Over 1.5 goals in any of the last eight league matches.

2 – Cape Town City were involved in two goalless draws in the space of a month, only the 9th and 10th occasions in five years that there has been a goalless draw involving City.

Could this be the fixture where the goals come back?

Memories of the 4-2 and 3-3 thrillers between the sides are probably still fresh, and will tempt one to believe this could be the game in which the goals return. With two clean sheets in 10 away games this campaign, Supersport’s defence is hardly stellar.

23 – Only in fixtures against Pirates and Golden Arrows have Supersport seen more goals than they have in the fixture against Cape Town City since they came into the top flight in 2016 (23).

Goals

If you’re in the market for early goals, then this could also be the game that rewards you. Supersport (7) and City (6) lead the league for scoring in the opening 15-minutes, while City are the only side to have scored 20 first-half goals this campaign. When you add the fact that City (9) also conceded the most goals in the opening quarter-hour, then an early goal looks like good value, while a first-half goal could be the safer choice.

1 – Only one of the nine league fixtures between the sides has been goalless at half time.