CAIRO - The 2011-2012 Egyptian Premier League is back in action after a five-week stoppage, with three matches Tuesday and another three Wednesday. Military Production, el-Mahalla and Smouha line up Tuesday against Haras el-Hodoud, Petrojet and Al-Ittihad of Alexandria respectively, in the seventh week of the League. Meanwhile, Misr Elmaqasah (MCSD), Police Union and Arab Contractors will Wednesday take on Enppi, Talefounat Beni Sueif and Zamalek respectively. The Premier League was on hold due as the Egyptian Olympic team were playing in Morocco in the African Under-23 Championship, in which they put on well, securing third place and a berth in the 2012 London Olympics, for the first time since 1992. Al-Ahly are due to face Ismaili Tuesday behind closed doors at the Cairo International Stadium, but for security reasons the game has been postponed to December 26, by order of the Ministry of the Interior. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has ordered the Red Devils to play the fixture behind closed doors, because their fans repeatedly let off fireworks during their game in the fourth week of the season against Al-Ittihad. The head of the EFA's Competitions' Committee says that the Ministry of the Interior asked them to postpone the match for security reasons. Zamalek are ready to meet Contractors Wednesday, as the White Knights have made the most of the League stoppage by playing a lot of friendlies that have witnessed the return of some injured players such as defender Hani Said. However, the team will be without key faces such as Amr Zaki, Hazem Imam, Mohamed Ibrahim and Mohamed Abdel-Shafei. Zamalek's technical coach Hassan Shehata says that he's also upped the number of training sessions for the players, in order to boost their concentration and tactics. According to sources at the White Knights, Shehata will resort to the 3-5-2 formation to fill the gaps that appeared in defence in the friendlies, leading to many silly goals being conceded. Zamalek are in fifth place in the top flight with 10 points from five games, with a game in hand over Wadi Degla, while Contractors are languishing in 16th place with only three points from five matches. "We've just held two intensive training sessions, with the coaching staff concentrating on tactics," Shehata stresses, adding that the aim is to boost the players both physically and tactically. The ex-Egypt coach also stresses that the coaching staff have been making full use of the friendlies to prepare the players to make a strong return. "Five weeks into the season, the results so far are satisfying," explains Shehata, adding however that the coaching staff still expect more from the team. "When I took on the mission of coaching the White Knights, I wanted to change the players' mentality," points out the veteran coach, adding that Zamalek are a big team who ought to grab more titles and trophies. Ahead of the last training session ahead of the Arab Contractors game, Zamalek striker Ahmed Hossam 'Mido' said that he's fully fit again and waiting for the coaching staff to let him loose on the park again. "The League stoppage has been a good opportunity for me to regain my fitness and I'm now raring to go," he added. Zamalek goalkeeping coach Ahmed Soleiman has denied reports that his side are trying to sign their ex-goalkeeper Essam el-Hadari during the winter transfer period. "We're not thinking about Hadari at all, as we already have three good goalkeepers," Soleiman says, adding that the club is going through a financial crisis anyway and wouldn't be able to afford the likes of Hadari. Contractors coach Mohamed Radwan says that his side are ready for the Zamalek clash and obviously hoping to snatch all three points. "The game will be a tough one, but we are ready and may be able to surprise everyone," he adds. Soccer experts, meanwhile, predict that this year's Egyptian Premier League is going to be one of the most challenging competitions in recent years, as all 19 clubs in the top flight this season are looking strong. In the first six weeks of the season, most of the clubs played very well, with the small ones undaunted by the giant ones, and the experts hope the rivalry will continue in the coming weeks. The first six weeks of the Premier League witnessed the sacking of four coaches: the twins Hossam and Ibrahim Hassan of Ismaili; el-Mahalla's Salah el-Nahei after Zamalek crushed them 6-1; Smouha's Mimi Abdel-Razeq after they were held by el-Masry 1-1; and Military Production's Kamal Etman, when Haras el-Hedoud beat them 3-0. As for the Egyptian coaches who have been doing well since the season started, they include Tareq Yehia of MCSD; Hamza el-Jamal of Talefounat Beni-Sueif; Haras el-Hodoud's Tareq el-Ashri; Helmi Toulon of Police Union; and el-Gouna Anwar Salama. The Egyptian League 7th week fixtures: Tuesday December 13: 4:45pm Smouha v el-Hodoud 4:45pm Military Production v Petrojet 4:45pm el-Mahalla v Al-Ittihad Wednesday December 14: 4:45pm Elmaqasah v Enppi 4:45pm Police Union v el-Talefounat 7:15pm Arab Contractors v Zamalek
