The duo do battle in the first leg of this year’s MTN8 semi-finals on Saturday afternoon at Cape Town Stadium, following Downs’ quarter-final win over Golden Arrows while City got the better of Maritzburg United in the previous stage of the competition.
Putsche, who has played every minute of City’s four games across all competitions so far this season, knows Downs are a dangerous unit, but is determined to show the Brazilians who is the boss in the Mother City.
“We’ve analysed Sundowns and we know how they play, we know they are dangerous and won the league last season,” he told reporters. “We know they have quality players and a big budget so nobody can underestimate them. But we have prepared well, we are a good team as well, and we want to show that Cape Town is our living room and that we dictate here.”
Putsche feels playing the first leg at home is not much of a disadvantage, insisting his side are prepared for any situation.
“To be honest, I don’t care about these things because you have to perform in both games,” he said. “Of course it’s a bit of an advantage to play the second game at home, but if you want to win trophies and titles, you have to be prepared for every single situation, and I think we are.”
Kick-off is set for 15h00.