The two sides face off at Cape Town Stadium, with McCarthy set to face the man who gave him his debut as a 17-year-old for Seven Stars in 1995 on the opposite bench for the first time.
The Citizens have already beaten the Absa Premiership champions in their season-opening league clash, yet Hunt did not sit in the dugout following his sending off in his side’s MTN8 quarter-final penalty shootout victory over Golden Arrows.
A repeat result would see McCarthy properly getting one over his mentor, but he insists it’s not about that.
“For me, it’s not about getting one up over Hunt,” he said.
“I want to win desperately on Sunday. Of course after the game I can then possibly share a joke and laugh with Gavin and say, ‘The student is slowly becoming the master!’
“But it’s going to be emotional for me as well as Gavin is the one coach who really believed in me at that age and gave me an opportunity. He saw something that not many people saw, and my career took off because I had someone like Gavin Hunt believe in me and give me that opportunity to go. And now I get to face the guy that kick-started my career.”
Kick-off in the Mother City is set for 15h30.