CAIRO - Egyptian champions Al-Ahly get back to competitive action as they host South Africa's Supersport United in their CAF Champions League opener. It will take place on Friday 5:30 pm. Manuel Jose's team will be aiming to build on their devastating form in the recent friendly tour, which saw them win five games on the spin. The South Africans already know they are outsiders against the six-time African champions, who won four editions of the Dark Continent's top club-competition under Jose. "Jose has won the Champions League four times - he has a record longer than your arm," says Supersport coach Gavin Hunt. "I know how he set his team out a month ago, but his team will look different now. So we'll have to improvise." "Nobody's giving us a chance, so we'll show what we're made of and see how tough it is." Al-Ahly, on the other hand, are out to end this tie before visiting the South African champions in two weeks' time. "The first leg is important. We want to end the contest in Cairo," said assistant coach Mohamed Youssef. "That is why we have held several meeting with the players to ensure the importance of this game and why we should not wait for the away game in South Africa to win this contest. "We saw three games for Super Sport and we have noted their weaknesses and strengths. The team's style depends on the group play but they tend to have unstable defense line." Al-Ahly are without veteran duo Mohamed Barakat and Ahmed Hassan, with the latter unregistered in the Champions League roster after his recent return from injury. Barakat is struggling with a knee problem, but striker Geddo returns after recovering from a hamstring injury. Striker Dominique da Silva is set to make his competitive debut with a lot expected from him after impressing in the friendly matches of late. Youngster Hussein Ghoneim has been ruled out with a knee injury, while midfielder Shehab Ahmed was excluded. Supersport will be without key striker Anthony Laffor following his red card in the first-round match against Matlama of Lesotho.
