The summit match between Al-Ahly, second in the standings, and Pyramids, the leader, steals the spotlight in the tenth round of the Egyptian Football League, as Al-Ahly, which has been struggling in the recent period, seeks to regain the confidence of its fans, while Pyramids hopes to strengthen its position in the lead and continue the dream of achieving the title for the first time.
The tenth round begins on Sunday, and all lights turn to Cairo International Stadium, where Al-Ahly receives Pyramids in an anticipated confrontation between the leaders of the standings (9 p.m. UAE time).
The conflict between Al-Ahly and Pyramids has raged on and off the field since changing the identity of Al-Assiouty Sport Club to Pyramids in June 2019 after Saudi Chancellor Turki Al-Sheikh took over its ownership in light of a famous dispute with Al-Ahly’s management at the time.
Despite the departure of Al-Sheikh from the Pyramids management, which is currently headed by Emirati businessman Salem Al Shamsi, the rivalry between the two clubs is still continuing, especially after the departure of a number of Al-Ahly stars such as Ramadan Sobhi, Ahmed Fathi, Sherif Ekrami, and previously Abdullah Al-Saeed to Pyramids amid what was described as Great financial temptations.
The last chapter of the conflict was last season, when Pyramids topped the league table for a long period before Al-Ahly snatched the top spot with two successive victories over Pyramids and maintained it to win the title.
Sunday’s match comes in light of the state of faltering that Al-Ahly is experiencing, as the team lost 8 points in 9 league matches this season after drawing 4, the last of which was Wednesday 1-1 with Pharco in Alexandria, falling to second place with 19 points, one point behind leaders Pyramids.
The draw against Pharco was only an episode in a series of fluctuating performances for Al-Ahly, which had lost a few days earlier in Cairo to Orlando Pirates of South Africa 2-1, losing the top spot in its group in the African Champions League.
These results led to a state of anger among Al-Ahly fans, who expressed their dissatisfaction with the failure of the team’s management to conclude any winter deals, especially with the injuries that affected a large number of the team’s players, most notably the Moroccan trio Yahya Atiyallah, Ashraf Dari and Reda Selim, in addition to the Palestinian team’s top scorer Wissam. Abu Ali.
South African Percy Tau also left the team this month to Qatar, and striker Mahmoud Abdel Moneim “Kahraba” to Libyan club Al-Ittihad.
Al-Ahly’s management moved late, announcing on Friday the inclusion of Zed defender Mustafa Al-Ash on loan until the end of the season, in addition to signing Slovenian striker Nej Gradishar, coming from Hungary’s Fehervár, in an attempt to solve the offensive crisis that struck the team. The Red Team did not reveal the possibility of the new duo participating against Pyramids on Sunday.
Al-Ahly’s Swiss coach, Marcel Koller, said that the injuries greatly affected his team’s results in the recent period, and he added, “We were forced to field young players, and the reason for that was the pressure of matches and the many injuries that struck the players.”
For its part, Pyramids is experiencing a good period, as it secured qualification to the quarter-finals of the African Champions League for the first time, and topped the league with 30 points after achieving 4 consecutive victories, the last of which was over Zed by a goal.
The team, which achieved the first title in its history by winning the Egypt Cup last season, hopes to continue its journey and achieve the dream of winning the league for the first time.
Croatian Kronoslav Juricic, Pyramids coach, said, “We have proven that we are one of the leaders in football in Africa currently, and now it is our turn to continue the journey and compete for the league title until the end.”
The tenth round will witness another important confrontation when Zamalek hosts El Gouna at Cairo Stadium on Monday.
Zamalek dropped to third place with its sudden loss to Modern Sport by a goal on Thursday, while El Gouna dropped to last place in the competition after losing its last four matches and achieving only one win since the start of the league.
Zamalek to regain the winning tone
Zamalek enters the match in light of administrative crises haunting the team, especially with regard to the renewal of a number of its players whose contracts expire at the end of the season, specifically the team’s star, Ahmed Sayed “Zizou,” who received several offers to leave without specifying his final position, whether to renew or leave in the current period. The absence of Tunisian Zamalek player Hamza Mathlouthi until the end of the season was confirmed after he suffered a rupture of the cruciate ligament in the knee during the Modern match.
Zamalek coach Christian Gross said: “Mathlouthi’s injury caused confusion in the team’s defence. I do not know if we will include new signings or not, and in any case we must continue working with the elements we currently have.”
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