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We are not favourites to defeat Egypt's Ahly, says Esperance's coach A few hours ahead of the anticipated game, Esperance coach Nabil Maaloul admits that his team is not the favourite to win today's clash with Ahly
Tunisia's Esperance coach Nabil Maaloul confesses that his team will be greatly affected because they are missing many key players when they host Egypt's Ahly in the second round of the African Champions League group stage. “We are not really favourites for today's clash. I will not hide the fact that I have fears about this match as Esperance will be depleted following the suspension of Msakni, Korbi and Ben Amor, and injured players; Ben Mansour and Bachtobji,” Maaloul told the confederation of African football (CAF) official website on Saturday. “It is mostly the defence that will be affected. That will compel me to field in left winger Khalil Chammam, at the central defence. The Ghanaian, Harrisson Afful, a right wing player, will play this time at the left. Khaled Mouelhi will replace Khaled Korbi as holding midfielder. Meanwhile, I am still to decide on how to make up for the absence of Youssef Msakni,” he added. Ahly opened their group stage campaign with a 3-3 home draw against Morocco's Wydad Casablanca last week, while Esperance's game with Algerian side Mouloudia ended with a 1-1 draw. The Tunisian side will make the best use of being playing at home to clinch the match's three points and Maaloul will rely heavily on his new Cameroonian striker, Yannick N'Djeng, to hit the guest's net. “We expect a lot from our new recruits. It's a real advantage. N'Djeng is yet to sync with his teammates, as he has played just a single game with Esperance,” the 48-year old coach explained. Mohamed Abou-Treika regime is over Despite of the well known skill of Ahly's star Mohamed Abou-Treika, Maaloul will not make any special preparations to stop the Pharaohs star, as he sees bigger threats elsewhere from the Red Devils. Abou-Trieka does not dictate the game for Ahly like before. There are many younger players who are better than him. If there is one player who I am cautious of it is the attacker, Emad Meteb. He is focused, good and moves a lot. He causes the defences a lot of problems. Gedo also impressed me in the last match. The team's rhythm dropped after he was replaced,” the former assistant coach of Tunisia said. After a successful season with Esperance by winning the double, Leauge and cup titles, in Tunisia, now Maaloul hopes to continue this success by winning the Champions League title. “Frankly, I am making it clear that this triple is a personal challenge. Of course, it would be a superb compensation for the team. But we cannot sit and dream a lot because we still have a long way to go,” he concluded.
