Ahly v Wydad Match Preview | CAF Champions League final 2017
Match Info:
Saturday, October 28th 2017
19:00 Cairo Local Time
Venue: Borg El-Arab stadium, Alexandria, Egypt
Ahly host the Moroccan side in the first-leg at Alexandria’s Borg El-Arab stadium in-front of 60 000+ Fans on Saturday before heading to Casablanca for the second leg one week later.
Wydad Casablanca’s primary target would not be conceding in their anticipated clash away to Egypt’s Ahly in the first leg of the African Champions League final on Saturday, playmaker Mohammad Ounnajem said on Wednesday.
Cairo giants Ahly are buoyed by an impressive 6-2 thrashing of Tunisia’s Etoile Sahel at home in the second leg of the competition’s semi-final that lifted them to the final with a 7-4 aggregate win. They are eyeing a record-extending ninth title.
One-time winners Wydad qualified for their first final since 2011 after beating USM Alger 3-1.
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Ounnajem provides much of their creativity in the final third and he believes Wydad should avoid the debacle of last year when they suffered an embarrassing 4-0 first-leg defeat by Ahly’s Cairo rivals Zamalek in the same stage.
Although the Moroccans produced a spirited second-leg display that saw them win 5-2, they eventually bowed out.
“We will focus on avoiding a repeat of what happened last year against Zamalek. We will do our best to get a positive result in Alexandria and not leak any goals,” Ounnajem told a Moroccan television channel.
“In the second leg, we will have the advantage of playing before our hugely supportive fans.”
Ahly and Wydad met twice in the group stage, with each winning their home clash by the same 2-0 scoreline.
“It will not be easy against Ahly; our group stage meetings were very tough,” Ounnajem added.
Ahly News:
Hossam Ashour & Saleh Gomma will not be available on Saturday
“Ashour will miss the first-leg. We will do our best to prepare him for the second-leg,” Ahly doctor Khaled Mahmoud told reporters on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old sustained a groin injury in Ahly’s 4-1 win over Ragaa in an Egyptian league game last week.
Al Ahly will also miss midfielder Saleh Gomaa but welcome back Abdallah El-Said after the influential playmaker recovered from injury.
The Red Devils are making their first final appearance since winning the last of their record eight titles in 2013.
Wydad, who won Africa’s premier club competition once in 1992, last reached the final in 2011 when they lost to Tunisia’s Esperance.
Al Ahly Fans match predictions
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiboYAPXwJs
