Optimistic Ahly to clash with wounded Petrojet

Title holder Ahly start round two of the Egyptian Premier League season, hosted by Petrojet in Suez Stadium

Cairo football giants Ahly are thirsty for another league win after being propelled to a 1-0 victory over Haras El-Hodoud last round through Emad Meteb's goal. Their next opponents, Petrojet (a petroleum company), will also be keen to clinch a victory after their 3-1 defeat to Ismaily.
Both sides will see their top stars fit and in form, setting the stage for a tense match up. Mohamed Abou-Treika, Meteb, Abdullah El-Saied and Walid Soliman will each prove valuable to the Ahly side while hosts, Petrojet, will count on the skills of their talented trio Mohamed Koffi, Ghanian Eric Bekoe and Marawan Mohsen to threaten Sherif Ekramy's net.
The Red Devils' Portuguese manager Manuel Jose has worked to harmonise his squad in order to solve certain tactical mistakes which saw the side crash out of two major championships last September, the Egypt Cup and the CAF Champions League.
Jose sidelined Mauritania striker Da Silva and winger Ayman Ashraf, replacing them with Sayed Hamdy and Shehab El-Din Ahmed.
Midfielder Mohamed Shawki has been named for the squad, despite major doubts that he will be able to participate following a knee injury during Ahly's training session on Sunday. Mohamed Barakat will also be missed due to an arm injury.
For the other camp, Egyptian coach Taha Basry is determined to gain a first win with Petrojet, stating time and again to his players during training, “We have no option but to win.”
“The match is hard, and I think the draw was cruel to us as we have to face big teams like Ismaily and Ahly successively,” Basry added.
Other Tuesday matchups include: El-Shorta v Smouha, Masry v Talae El-Gaish, Haras El-Hodoud v Maqassa and Arab Contractors v El-Entag El-Harby.
The league's second round ends on Wednesday with Gouna v Ismaily, Bani Suef Telephones v Wadi Degla, Ittihad of Alexandria v ENPPI and Zamalek v Ghazl El-Mahalla.