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Cape Town - Cape Town City need to prevent Young Buffaloes from scoring at Athlone Stadium on Tuesday to take a step closer to the CAF Confederation Cup group stages.
Benni McCarthy's side were made to work for a narrow 1-0 victory in the first leg of their preliminary-round qualifier at Somhlolo National Stadium in Swaziland earlier this month.
Nana Akosah-Bempah's 85th-minute strike eventually settled the match, giving the Blue and Gold Army a valuable away goal to take into the second leg on home soil.
City returned to domestic action the following weekend with a disappointing 1-0 reverse to Kaizer Chiefs at the FNB Stadium on Saturday, and McCarthy will be hoping for a much better performance from his players in midweek.
"Too many players did not turn up," he said after the match. "This is a game where, if you want to win the league, you have to beat the bigger teams, the best teams.
"You can't afford to have off days. We were nowhere near our best. We looked nervous and the guys were second best to everything.
"For me, Chiefs deserved the three points. We had our moments here and there, but we made too many mistakes and we allowed them in."
Meanwhile, Young Buffaloes returned to winning ways this past weekend when they beat Green Mamba 2-0 to keep in touch with local rivals Mbabane Swallows at the top of the Swazi Premier League table.
The win halted back-to-back defeats against City and Moneni Pirates, handing them a timely boost ahead of the trip to the Mother City, where Dominic Kunene's troops need to score to stand a chance of progressing in the competition.
In team news, Shane Roberts is expected to feature once more for the hosts after making his first-team debut in the first leg against the Swazi army outfit.
Akosah-Bempah should be given the nod again following his match-winner in Lobamba, while Robyn Johannes, Zukile Kewuti, Judas Moseamedi and Ebrahim Seedat also enter the mix.
Kick-off is at 19:30.
