Ahly are facing a stern test against old rivals Ismaily on Wednesday as they seek to maintain their hopes of equaling their own record of winning the Egyptian Premier League nine times in a row. With Ahly's Cairo foes Zamalek in formidable form, the Red Devils are unlikely to find it easy to defend the title they won the past eight seasons, with skeptics suggesting their squad is not good enough to prevail come the end of the season. They are nine points behind Zamalek, albeit with a game in hand, with more than half the season over. Ahly's matches against Ismaily have been traditionally tense, with the fervent supporters of both sides making no secret of their hard feelings towards the opposing side. But that rivalry has cooled off a bit over the past few years after a crowd ban was imposed in domestic football following the 2012 Port Said tragedy that left over 70 Ahly fans dead. This ban was partially lifted in February but another football disaster, which saw 20 Zamalek fans die in a stampede after being tear-gassed by security forces before a league game against ENNPI, prompted authorities to re-enforce the ban after the competition was suspended for more than four weeks. Ismaily, who started the season with a six-point deduction for failing to pay a former player, lie seventh in the table and they can only hope of securing a place in next season's Confederation Cup, Africa's secondary club competition. Both sides played out a goalless draw in an exciting league game last October in Gouna. Wednesday's match will also take place in the Red Sea resort at 15:30 Cairo local time. "The Ismaily game will be very difficult especially as the players suffer from fatigue due to their heavy schedule. We play a game every three days in high temperatures," Ahly skipper Hossam Ghaly said on the club's official website. "There is no choice but to win against Ismaily. The competition is very tough and we play for the title." Ahly will have to do without newly-signed Nigerian striker Peter Ebimobowei, who is starting to gel into the team following his January arrival, and defender Mohamed Naguib due to injuries. Left-back Hussein El-Sayed has been included in Ahly's squad despite being involved in a heated exchanged with coach Juan Carlos Garrido during Monday's training session. "We will not play for a draw; we are going for a win," said Ismaily's new coach Tarek Yehia, who succeeded Brazilian Ricardo. (For more sports news andupdates, followAhramOnlineSportson Twitter at@AO_Sportsand onFacebookatAhramOnlineSports.) http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/127139.aspx
