Having endured a season to forget, Zamalek will be keen to restore some pride and grab a long-awaited win over arch-rivals and Egyptian Premier League champions Ahly when they lock horns in the Cairo derby on Thursday. Zamalek, who are led by a caretaker coach and are in talks with Swiss Christian Gross to lead them next season, are a distant fourth and virtually have no hopes of finishing in the top three and earning automatic African qualification. They snapped a three-match winless run by beating Assiouty Sport 2-1 last Sunday but will be desperate to end the season with something to cheer about, especially after suffering a stunning African Confederation Cup exit at the first hurdle. While defeating nemesis Ahly in their final match of the season would never match winning a title, it will at least give them some hope that they can challenge for honours next term. A win would also be their first over Ahly in the Egyptian league in 11 years. Since 2007, they have only beaten the Red Devils in the Egypt Cup, failing to secure any league victory. "The Cairo derby is a big chance for the players to reconcile with the club fans," Zamalek's caretaker coach Khaled Galal said on the club's official website on Monday. "I am confident that the players can win and deliver a good performance despite the recent financial crisis at the club. I hope that the problems will be solved as soon as possible to restore the needed stability. "The players are determined to return Zamalek back to its normal place." Ahly are chasing several records after winning a third straight title with six matches to spare last month. They set a record for most goals scored in one season following their 2-1 win over Petrojet on Sunday. They also just need two points from their remaining games to achieve the biggest point tally in the competition's history, which is currently held by Zamalek, who collected 87 points in the 2014-15 season. "I have big targets to reach in the Zamalek match. The most important one is to continue our fine run to set new records," said Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry, who led the team to two consecutive league titles and steered them to a place in the African Champions League final last year. "We try to get a morale boost from the Zamalek match to help us in the coming challenges in both the Egypt Cup and the African Champions League." Ahly will miss the league's top scorer Walid Azaro after the Morocco striker suffered a hamstring injury but welcome back influential Tunisian left-back Ali Maaloul. Zamalek's Ghanaian striker Nana Poku and winger Emad Fathi are also out because of injury. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook atAhramOnlineSports.)
