Egypt's Al-Ahly host the Gunners of Zimbabwe on Friday in the African Champions League (ACL) second-leg round 32 at Cairo Stadium. The Red Devil are in high morale after overpowering their compatriots Petrojet in the Egyptian Premier League on Monday. They have two things in their favour on Friday: home soil and the crowd. Ahly are obviously anxious to please their fans by winning another African title this season. The Gunners lead 1-0 from the first leg at Rufaro in Zimbabwe a fortnight ago and need to avoid defeat to cause one of the greatest upsets in the tournament's history. A defeat by one goal, and if the scoreline reads 2-1 or 3-2, will also see the Gunners progress to the second round at the expense of Ahly, who are the Champions League record holders with six titles. The Gunners' boss Wellington Mpandare is optimistic. "We've had plenty of time to train and acclimatise," he was quoted as saying by the Zimbabwean media Wednesday night. "There was one thing that people have been overlooking and that's the age of the Ahly players," he added. "They are now old and have been in the Champions League since last year. "The fact that we beat them means that the players are really geared up. They know if they play well they'll get noticed in Africa." Al-Ahly's coach Hossam el-Badri, meanwhile, has been concentrating on long-distance attempts at goal during training, in case their opponents decide to play defensively, as well as passing quickly to confuse the Gunners. With a huge squad at his disposal, the coach has been rotating all the players to keep everyone in tip-top shape, but he'll bring out his best line-up for Friday's match. El-Badri, who took charge of Ahly about one year ago, has warned the players not to underestimate their opponents. The 50-year-older stresses his team have the potential to progress to the last 16, although the Gunners are a very strong team. "We will try and exploit the Gunners' shaky defence," he added. Al-Ahly are missing striker Mohamed Talaat and defender Ahmed el-Sayyed due to injury, while striker Ahmed Belal and goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh won't be playing. The Red Devils will be pinning their hopes on Mohamed Abou Treika, who performed well against Petrojet and also Enppi a week ago. Ahmed Hassan, Mohamed Barakat and Emad Met'eb will also be used in Friday's game.
