Match info:
Match KO at 19:30 Cairo local time | 13:00 ET CANADA-USA
Starting lineups:
Zamalek: Ahmed El-Shennawi, Ali Gabr, Mohamed Koffi, Hazem Emam, Hamada Tolba, Ibrahim Salah, Maarouf Yussuf, Ahmed Tawfik, Ayman Hefni, Bassem Morsi, Khaled Kamar
Stadium: Petro Sport, Cairo
Referee: El Fadil Mohamed Hussein
A wounded Zamalek side will be looking to overcome their sorrows following a disheartening 2-0 loss to arch-rivals Ahly in the league last week, when they entertain Congo’s Leopards in the Confederation Cup at Cairo’s Petrosport Stadium on Sunday.
Having pinned high hopes on their side to celebrate their first league trophy in 11 years with at least a draw against Ahly, the Zamalek faithful were stunned to see their team embarrassingly lose to Ahly – who almost lost hope of retaining the league title.
“There is much importance placed upon the Leopards game, given that it’s the first test following the defeat by Ahly,” Zamalek football director Ismail Youssef said in a news conference on Friday.
“We know that it won’t be an easy game, Leopards are a very good team, but we insist on winning the game to please our fans once again, especially that a win would boost our qualification chances to the next stage. “
Zamalek could also take heart from their previous meetings, where they made up for a 1-0 away defeat to Leopards with a 4-1 win at home in the 2013 Champions League group-stage – even though Zamalek had already lost hopes of a semi-final qualification.
