The Egyptian Premier League resumes on Wednesday, with no less than 15 members of Egypt's African Cup of Nations winning squad boosting their clubs. The main event will witness a confrontation between underachieving duo Ismaili and Zamalek, who are both desperate to catch up with leaders Ahli. Even though Ismaili will be without influential full-back Sayed Moawad, who joined Trabzonspor on-loan during the January transfer window, the Dervishes have CAN 2008 Player of the Tournament Hosni Abd-Rabou in possession. Cool-minded sweeper Hani Saied will also be a major asset after his solid performance in Ghana. On the other hand, Zamalek will be spearheaded by the 'Tiger' Amr Zaki, who enjoyed a wonderful Nations Cup campaign. Apart from that, the Whites welcome back midfield wizard Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq 'Shikabala', who has been given the green light to play after FIFA froze his 6-month ban. A win in Ismailia could see Zamalek enhancing their position and avenge their 1-0 home defeat in league opener last year. Ahli host Masri
Ahli host Masri In Cairo, highflying leaders Ahli entertain struggling Masri as the Reds are looking to extend their winning streak to eight games. The likes of Mohamed Abou-Treika, Essam Al-Hadari, Emad Meteb, Shadi Mohamed and Ahmed Fathi will be buoyant after their achievement with the national team. Abou-Treika heightened his already-staggering reputation when he scored the winning goal in the final against Cameroon, while Al-Hadari's displays earned him the best goalkeeper tag. Defense duo Shadi and Fathi were also impressive in Ghana, as the latter is set to make his debut following a move from England's Sheffield United. Striker Emad Meteb will be hoping to regain his lost goalscoring form though, after he failed to find the net in any of Egypt's 15-goal glut in Ghana. Masri gave Ahli a tough contest in the first game of the season, which ended 2-2, but the Port-Saied based club are just two points off the relegation zone. In Suez, third-placed Petrojet will host Tersana in an attempt to leapfrog Al-Gaish, who surprisingly lost at home to lowly Suez Cement last week. Petrojet key man will be midfielder Ahmed Shaaban, who was an unused substitute in Egypt's CAN winning squad. Other matches on Wednesday include: ENPPI-Ghazl Mahalla, Baladeya-Arab Contractors, Aluminum-Egypt Telecom and the Alexandria derby between Ittihad and Harras Al-Hodoud.
