Al-Ahly ranked first in its group in the round of sixteen, while Raja topped its group, forcing Al-Ahmar to play the first leg in its stadium, on Saturday, and to play the decisive second leg in Casablanca.
public support
And the Egyptian authorities agreed to the attendance of 20,000 fans in the Al-Ahly club shirt at the Al-Ahly “Wee Salam” stadium, so that the African champion would have the largest public attendance this season in the tournament.
Al-Ahly knows very well that he will face great public pressure in the return match in the city of Casablanca, where it is expected that nearly 50,000 fans will attend to support Raja, so Al-Ahmar is waiting for similar pressure from its fans at Al-Salam Stadium.
Tickets for the match were sold out after Al-Ahly fans raced to attend the big confrontation against Moroccan Raja, who lost to Al-Ahmar the last match in the African Super Cup at the end of last year.
How does Al-Ahly play?
Al-Ahly lost its last match in the local league against Al-Masry Al-Portsaidi with a clean goal, and its coach, Pitso Mosimane, came out after the meeting, saying: “Whoever does not know football will not know why we lost today,” in a clear reference to some sacrifices in order to confront Raja, to avoid pressure and exhaustion for many Players, after making a rotation in the formation.
Ahmed Farouk, a performance analyst, said in an interview with Sky News Arabia that Pitso Mosimane must be brave enough in front of Raja, and look at the return encounter, which is expected to be epic, in the presence of a full audience in “Casblanca”.
Farouk added: “Pitsu must play in his successful way this season 3-4-3, to increase his team’s offensive options in order to achieve a victory that makes him play the second leg in a state of rest away from the pressures of one goal difference or a tie in the first leg.”
And about the optimal formation of Al-Ahly, Farouk said: “The participation of Ali Maaloul and Karim Fouad in the left and right back positions, while playing with a defensive trio, will give Al-Ahly a great offensive power, provided that the attacking trio, Ahmed Abdel Qader, Percy Tau and Mohamed Sharif in the front line.”
And Farouk concluded: “Abdul Qader is the most prominent player in Al-Ahly club recently, Musimani should benefit from him optimally, but Mohamed Magdy “Afsha” will be a victim of this method of playing, because he plays as a classic playmaker, and this position does not exist in 3-4-3 “.
The return of the stars
Al-Ahly recovered all the players who were absent during the last period, led by Mohamed Hani, the right-back, Walid Suleiman, and Salah Mohsen, which gives Betso more defensive and offensive options against Raja.
The return of Mahmoud Metwally to support the list defensively, and Mohamed Mahmoud to be a substitute for the trio of midfielders Amr Al-Sulayya, Alio Diang and Hamdi Fathi, also represents a depth for Al-Ahly’s list in light of the great pressure in the matches that he is going through this season.
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