An early first-half goal by John Antwi for Al Ahly was enough to hand the Red Devils a win over Tunisian giants Esperance in their CAF Confederation Cup Group A match on Saturday night at Stade Olympique de Radès.
The win took the Egyptians to the top of the group, whilst the Tunisians bow out of the continental showpiece with one match to go.
In the beginning of the match, the visitors were the most effective and showed hunger as early as the sixth minute when Ghanaian striker John Antwi put the Red Devils ahead from Ramadan Sobhi's cross.
The hosts pushed for an equaliser when Ilyes Jelassi forced Sherif Ekramy to make a great save from a free kick.
Although Fakhreddine Ben Youssef seemed to have been fouled in the box, Esperance's penalty appeal was denied.
However, the visitors, through Sobhi, came close to adding number two but he missed his one-on-one with Moez Ben Cherifia.
In the second stanza, the hosts pushed for an equaliser when Nigerian striker Samuel Eduok took his chance from range, but he was denied by Ekramy.
It was the goalscorer, Antwi, who found the back of the net for the Egyptians but he was flagged up for an offside despite actually being onside.
Preview: Already-qualified Zamalek eyeing group summit in Confederation Cup
Zamalek will be looking to finish on top of their group after booking a last-four berth in the African Confederation Cup as they face Tunisia's Sfaxien away from home on Sunday
Having ensured their progress to the last four with two matches to spare, Zamalek will be looking to qualify as Group B winners as they face Tunisia's Sfaxien away from home on Sunday.
Zamalek joined Orlando Pirates in the semis after the South African outfit defeated Congo's AC Leopards 2-0 on Saturday, with both sides vying for a top-place finish. Orlando have 12 points, three clear of Zamalek who will be eyeing all three points against Sfaxien, whom they defeated 1-0 in Cairo in June.
The White Knights will be also hoping to make light of their absences this time around, having failed to cope with similar conditions in their 1-0 loss at Congo's Leopards a fortnight ago.
Zamalek joined Orlando Pirates in the semis after the South African outfit defeated Congo's AC Leopards 2-0 on Saturday, with both sides vying for a top-place finish. Orlando have 12 points, three clear of Zamalek who will be eyeing all three points against Sfaxien, whom they defeated 1-0 in Cairo in June.
The White Knights will be also hoping to make light of their absences this time around, having failed to cope with similar conditions in their 1-0 loss at Congo's Leopards a fortnight ago.
Having paid the price of an unimpressive goalkeeping from reserve goalie Mohamed Abo-Gabal in the Leopards' defeat, the Whites, who go into the game with an injury-plagued 17-man squad, will welcome Egypt first-choice Ahmed El-Shennawi who was rested for the last three games.
Whether El-Shennawi or Mahmoud 'Gennesh' would stand between the sticks remains to be seen, with the latter proving instrumental in taking Zamalek to the Egypt Cup semis after saving two crucial penalties in the shootout win at Alexandria's Ittihad.
But it is the defense where Zamalek could be struggling, with key center-back Mohamed Koffi out due to automatic suspension and full-back Hazem Emam and versatile defender Omar Gaber absent, leaving the right-back slot empty.
Emam, who was quite reliable this season in his right-back role, is out due to a calf problem that would sideline him for up two weeks.
Gaber, on the other hand, is absent for an entirely different reason – having flown to Bordeaux to undergo trial at the Ligue 1 side, who are expected to table an official bid for the defender in the upcoming period.
As a result, midfielder Ahmed Tawfik is now likely to fill in the right back slot after occupying the role in the Egypt Cup win over Ittihad.
On the opposite side of the pitch, Zamalek are left only with right-footed Hamada Tolba to assume the left-back role, with new-signing Mohamed Adel Gomaa injured as fellow full-back Sherif Alaa was not registered in the club's African roster.
Going forward, tricky winger Mostafa Fathi also misses out due to a hamstring complaint. His absence could mean on-loan Basel midfielder Ahmed Hamoudi could finally make his Zamalek debut.
Already-eliminated Sfaxien eye win over Zamalek
Bottom side Sfaxien missed out on finishing among the top two after collecting only a single point in their first four games.
The Tunisians also enter the game on the back of a 2-1 domestic cup defeat to Etoile du Sahel, unlike the Cairo side who made it to their domestic cup's semi-finals last week.
Sfaxien's cup exit lead to speculation as to the future of manager Paolo Duarte, who was obliged to hold a training session in the absence of fans in fear of their furious reactions ahead of the Zamalek fixture.
Even so, Portuguese boss Duarte said he excuses the fans admitting that they had all the right to be angry with their team's recent results, while stressing that they will eye a win over Zamalek in an attempt to reconcile with the club's supporters.
"I could well understand the reason behind the fans' anger, they have the right to be furious with the team," Duarte said.
"We will be looking forward to beating Zamalek and pleasing our fans again, despite the result having no impact on our qualification chances.
"But still we will play for a win, although Zamalek are a strong side who boast quality players."
Zamalek play in their first-ever Confederation Cup campaign, as they aim to win the African title that was claimed by arch-rivals Ahly last season.
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