Ittihad of Alexandria v Al Ahly | January 23, 2015 Match Preview

Unlike the Ismaily clash, Ahly fans are not as concerned ahead of the visit to Ittihad, with several factors likely to give them an edge over the Alexandrians.

A convincing performance against Ismaily suggested that the Cairo giants have been hardly affected by the exit of Peseiro, who took over at giants Porto just one day after parting ways with Ahly.

Ittihad are also not the side currently enjoying their best of spells, having failed to bag a single win in their last three games – which included a 2-0 defeat by city rivals Smouha last week.

Skipper Hossam Ghaly, full-back Sabri Rahil, and striker John Antwi, who all started against Ismaily on Wednesday, have all been declared fit to play after sustaining minor injuries in the 1-0 win.

Ahly will also welcome the return of holding midfielder Hossam Ashour who served a one-match ban.

The Ahly board, which is yet to settle on the next manager, is believed to make a decision during the 10-day league stoppage, which comes due to the national team’s commitments.

The Reds are currently second of the league table on 29 points, just one off city rivals and reigning champions Zamalek.