Ahly hope to return to winning ways when they face Maqassa in the 15th matchday of the Egyptian Premier League, Sunday, to recover from an embarrassing loss at home to Ittihad last week.
The Red Devils lost five points from their previous two games in the league as they were held to goalless draw by Wadi Degla before slumping to a 4-1 loss at home to Ittihad.
“The result is a shameful one with all due respect to the opponents,” Ahly boss Juan Carlos Garrido said after the loss to Ittihad.
The title holders are facing tough competition to retain the league title they won the past eight years, despite starting the season with winning the Egyptian Super Cup and the team’s African Confederation Cup triumphs.
They remain unconvincing, with the current crop of players struggling to establish themselves following last season’s retirement of key players.
Moreover, injuries forced coach Garrido to reshuffle his back-four several times over the past few weeks, with the likes of Bassem Ali, Saad Samir, Sabri Rahil, Hussein El-Sayed spending considerable time on the sidelines.
Ahly, who have suffered two defeats so far this season, are seventh in the Egyptian Premier League team table with 21 points; they need to win their remaining three games in hand to advance their place in the table.
Maqassa, who lie 8th in the 20-team table with 21 points, have improved recently, claiming a 4-1 win over Petrojet after being defeated 3-1 to Ahly’s arch-rivals Zamalek.
Ahly welcomed the return of longtime midfielder Hossam Ashour who missed Ittihad’s game due to injury. Striker Ahmed Abdel-Zaher, who missed the previous game for technical reasons, has been named in the 22-man squad for the Maqassa game.
They will have to do without defender Sherif Hazem, however, who faces up to six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury alongside right-back Basem Ali, strikers Amr Gamal and Mohamed Nagi “Gedo”.
Garrido has omitted Burkinabe Mosa Yeden and Ahmed Khairy from Ahly’s squad that will face Maqassa Sunday, reportedly for technical reasons.
