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Cape Town - On their return to South Africa for the inaugural Cape Town Cup, English Premier League side Crystal Palace are scheduled to face Absa Premiership outfit SuperSport United in the first semifinal at Cape Town stadium on Friday night.
The match is set to give local football fanatics some exciting pre-season action as the Eagles have brought their full strength side. They were last in the country back in 1993 when they played Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs during the days of Mark Bright, Eric Young and John Solako.
Under the guidance of manager Alan Pardew, Palace have the likes of DRC winger Yanick Bolasie, Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha who are all expected to set the stage alight.
However, Gordon Igesund’s men cannot be underestimated as they will hope to stamp their authority in the Mother City.
The Tshwane giants will arrive with their experienced players such as Jeremy Brockie, Thuso Phala and skipper in Clayton Daniels.
Asked whether Palace will be looking to scout players in Cape Town, the manager said: “Well, it’ll probably be unfair on our hosts to take their best players.
"You know if there’s an opportunity that a player really catches the eye then for sure we’d be interested because South African football is good for us if we got the right player,” said Alan Pardew.
“The most important thing is the team plays well, it’s good. And then hopefully we bring some entertainment to South Africa as well.”
To SuperSport's New Zealand international striker Brockie, the tournament could help them in their quest to challenge for silverware this season.
“I’m really looking forward to getting down to Cape Town," Brockie said.
“Obviously we’ve got two strong games down there so everything is going to plan and we’re just looking forward to the first game."
The match is scheduled to get underway at 17:45 and the iconic Cape Town Stadium is set to host the event.
