Egyptian champions Ahli get back to competitive action as they host South Africa's Supersport United in their CAF Champions League opener on Friday. Manuel Jose's team will be aiming to build on their devastating form in the recent friendly tour, which saw them win five games on the spin. The South Africans already know they are outsiders against the six-time African champions, who won four editions of the Dark Continent's top club-competition under Jose. "Jose has won the Champions League four times - he has a record longer than your arm," says Supersport coach Gavin Hunt. "I know how he set his team out a month ago, but his team will look different now. So we'll have to improvise." "Nobody's giving us a chance, so we'll show what we're made of and see how tough it is." Ahli, on the other hand, are out to end this tie before visiting the South African champions in two weeks' time. "The first leg is important. We want to end the contest in Cairo," said assistant coach Mohamed Youssef. "That is why we have held several meeting with the players to ensure the importance of this game and why we should not wait for the away game in South Africa to win this contest. "We saw three games for Super Sport and we have noted their weaknesses and strengths. The team's style depends on the group play but they tend to have unstable defense line." Team news Ahli are without veteran duo Mohamed Barakat and Ahmed Hassan, with the latter unregistered in the Champions League roster after his recent return from injury.
Barakat is struggling with a knee problem, but striker Geddo returns after recovering from a hamstring injury. Striker Dominique da Silva is set to make his competitive debut with a lot expected from him after impressing in the friendly matches of late. Youngster Hussein Ghoneim has been ruled out with a knee injury, while midfielder Shehab Ahmed was excluded. Supersport will be without key striker Anthony Laffor following his red card in the first-round match against Matlama of Lesotho. Ismaili vs. Sofapaka In the Confederation Cup, Ismaili entertain Kenyan minnows Sofapaka for the second consecutive year. The Dervishes won 2-0 on aggregate last year under Emad Soliman, but this time it is Mark Wotte who will be on the bench at Ismailia Stadium. "I know Sofapaka will be trying to snatch a goal, that's why I prepared my team well so that we can keep a clean sheet," said the Dutch manager. "The recent break surely affected the team's fitness especially that we had a little chance to play a number of friendly games." Wotte is forced to deploy midfielders Ahmed Khairi and Abdullah Al-Shahhat at the heart of defense, with Shadi Mohamed and Ibrahim Yehia injured. Influential winger Omar Gamal will be on the bench after recovering from a long-term knee injury that kept him out of action for most of last year.
