Defending champions Ahli will be looking for a positive result when they face Etoile Sahel away in the first-leg of the CAF Champions League final on Saturday. The five-time African champions have the advantage of playing the first-leg in Tunisia and will do what ever it takes to snatch a win over Etoile, whom they beat in the 2005 final. "We won't settle for anything less than a victory over Etoile," Ahli coach Manuel Jose said. "It's my philosophy to play for a win everywhere. A victory against the Tunisians will make our task at home much easier." However, the Portuguese coach is worried about the Egyptian players' character, claiming that they lack ambition whenever they play away from home. "It is a problem that I have to deal with every time Ahli play abroad. The players become content with an away draw or a narrow defeat, in hope of overcoming the deficit at home." The Red Devils approach the crunch meeting with a full-strength side, with the exception of winger Gilberto. Despite Ahli's medical team insistence that the Angolan does not suffer any injuries, Jose opted to leave him out as he suffers some ambiguous pain.
Etoile aim to make up for 2005 defeat Ahmed Shedid is the natural back-up for Gilberto, however, reports suggest that Jose could use central defender Ahmed Al-Sayed on the left flank, making way for Wael Gomaa to occupy a place in Ahli's defense. Another option is that versatile midfielder Mohamed Barakat could be shifted to the left instead of Gilberto. Etoile desperate for title Etoile are desperate to win the prestigious title after reaching the Champions League final for the third time in four years. They failed to overcome Nigeria's Enyimba in 2004 and were handed a 3-0 aggregate defeat by Ahli one year later. Etoile coach Bertrand Marchand is confident about his side's prospects, believing that Ahli were lucky to progress to this year's final. "Ahli depend too much on luck and experience and will need more than that when facing us," the French coach was quoted as saying by BBC Sport. "The key Ahly players are midfielder Mohamed Abou-Treika and striker Emad Meteb and if we stop them, they will be easily contained and we can definitely claim the trophy."
