While leaders Ahli are looking to widen the gap over the other league contenders, Petrojet are seeking to overcome their embarrassing home drubbing to Harras Hodoud. The Petroleum side, who lie third in the league table, were condemned to a 4-1 home loss by Hodoud on Thursday in the Egyptian Premier League. Petrojet coach Mokhtar Mokhtar is aiming to get back to winning ways right away by beating Ahli. He also hopes his side will finish the season as runners-up. "We want to get over our defeat to Hodoud and get back in contention for the second spot (in the league table)," he told FilGoal.com. "Nothing will satisfy us except for a victory in Monday's game." FilGoal.com understands that Mokhtar will be deploying a 3-5-2 formation instead of the 4-4-2 that he employed in his last two games Ahli have been far from consistent for several weeks and now they are struggling to keep leading the way. The Red Devils claimed a narrow 2-1 victory over ENPPI on Thursday, thanks to numerous wrong decisions from referee Samir Othman and his assistants. ENPPI had two strikes disallowed through offside; although TV replays left no doubts that both goals were legitimate.
Ahmed Adel is likely to stand between the sticks Ahli also leveled the score through a dubious penalty kick, which prompted accusations of favoritism. The Cairo giants are on top of the league table with 49 points, six ahead of their arch-rivals Zamalek who lie second. Ahli have one more game in hand. Team News Ahli defender Sherif Abdul-Fadil, striker Mohamed Talaat and goalie Sherif Ekrami were ruled out of the game through injury. Ahmed Adel will most probably fill the void left by Ekrami's groin problem. Sayed Moawad and Ahmed Ali are automatically suspended. On the other hand, Petrojet's prolific striker Eric Bekoe was doubtful for the game after his knee problem resurfaced but was declared fit later on. Midfielder Hani Hassan will miss the game due to injury, while Kamal Ali was excluded from Petrojet's squad after being involved in a row with some fans in training. Other Matches Zamalek have a relatively easy task in hand, as they are facing lowly Ghazl Mahalla away.
Zamalek won 10 matches out of their last 11 The White Knights will be eyeing nothing but a win in order to keep alive their title hopes. Ghanaian midfielder Rahim Ayew was named for the trip and might play his first game with Zamalek after the African Cup of Nations. Ivorian attacking midfielder Remi Adiko, who has hardly featured for Zamalek since his arrival last summer, was also included in their squad. Holding midfielders Ibrahim Salah and Hassan Mostafa will not be available against Mahalla due to automatic suspension. Elsewhere, Goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari might make his Ismaili comeback against Military Production. The 37-year-old hasn't played for the Dervishes this month in protest for the coastal club's inability to fulfill their financial obligations towards him. Ismaili, who are in fourth place with 37 points, want to recover from their surprising 2-1 loss to Gouna last week. Gouna will try to capitalize on their victory at Ismaili and score another at Gaish to move away from the relegation zone. In-form Hodoud will take on Arab Contractors, who lost in their last five games. Police Union will host Ittihad in a mid-table game, while Masri will be seeking to widen ENPPI's misery. Bottom side Asyut Petroleum will host penultimate outfit Mansoura.
