Midfielder Mohamed Shawki will miss Ahli's crucial CAF Champions League match against Hilal of Sudan on Sunday due to suspension. Ahli have said that Shawki is suspended by CAF for picking up his second yellow card in the game against Esperance Tunisia. It has been believed the player has been dropped by Jose, especially that he seems to have fallen out of favor with the Portuguese coach who did not name him in the squad that played against Ismaili in the Egyptian Super Cup or the league opener against Masri on Monday. Hassan Mostafa is expected to deputize for Shawki alongside Hossam Ashour in midfield since new signing Moetazbellah Eno is not legible to take part in the African competition and Tunisian Anis Boujelbene is suspended for the Khartoum game. Angolan striker Flavio Amado is also suspended for Sunday's game while Mohamed Abou-Treika and Mohamed Barakat have been named in the 19-man squad despite struggling to recover from the flu. Jose also omitted midfielders Tarek Al-Saied and Ahmed Shedid, leaving Angolan Gilberto as the only left-sided winger in the squad. The African champions have concluded their preparations for the game with a light training session on Thursday morning and are scheduled to fly to Sudan early on Friday.
Abou-Treika is recovering from the flu Ahli are in charge of their Group B of the Champions League quarter-finals with 9 points, three ahead of second-place Hilal. The Cairo giants need only a draw to secure their place as group winners and advance to the semi-finals. Ahli's squad: Goalkeepers: Essam Al-Hadari, Amir Abdul-Hamid Defenders: Emad Al-Nahhas, Shadi Mohamed, Rami Adel, Wael Gomaa, Ahmed Al-Sayed, Mohamed Mahmoud ‘Nanno' Midfielders: Mohamed Barakat, Islam Al-Shater, Ahmed Adel, Ahmed Sedik, Hossam Ashour, Hassan Mostafa, Gilberto, Mohamed Abou-Treika Forwards: Emad Meteb, Osama Hosni, Reda Al-Weeshi
