Maqassa had their fortunes turned around following the arrival of coach Emad Soliman but their progress faces a stern test against holders Ahly in Sunday's rescheduled Egyptian Premier League clash. Ahly shook off a feeble challenge from runners-up Maqassa last season to win the league title and they look formidable in the early stages of the new term, chalking up eight wins in their first nine matches. Maqassa, on the other hand, made a poor start to the season to slip to second from bottom in the table before Soliman arrived to lift them to the eighth spot with four wins in six games, including a stunning 3-1 victory over Cairo giants Zamalek. "Any match against either Ahly or Zamalek is very important because all people wait for such games, given the popularity of those clubs," Soliman said in an interview with Egyptian sports website FilGoal. "It's true that Ahly boast a lot of stars, but it's our right to have the ambition to win. Our morale is high because of our recent fine results." Maqassa are capable of causing some troubles to Ahly's backline as they boast two of the league's top three goal scorers. In-form versatile midfielder Hussein El-Shahat and Ghanaian striker John Antwi have scored eight goals each in the first 12 matches of the season. In arguably their most lethargic display this season, Ahly labored to a 1-0 win over Assiouty Sport on Wednesday for their eighth straight victory. The Red Devils are consistently praised for their ability to claim all three points even when they are not at their best. Ahly will once again have to play with a makeshift defence, with three of of their four regular defenders out through injury: Tunisian left-back Ali Maaloul and central defensive pair Saad Samir and Rami Rabia. Coach Hossam El-Badry also decided to rest key defensive midfielder Hossam Ashour. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
