Zamalek in the match of fate ... and Al-Ahly in the mission of deciding the African qualification against Al-Merrikh
Egyptian Zamalek, the runner-up of the last edition, is looking to revive his chances of staying in the CAF Champions League football competition, but he will play a fateful match against his host MC Algiers, who is sufficient for a draw to reach the quarter-finals in the fifth and penultimate round of the group stage (the final price), Meanwhile, the defending champion Al-Ahly is looking to finalize its qualification after a stumbling start, when it comes to a heavy guest on Al-Merrikh, Sudan.
Zamalek is fully aware that his mission is almost impossible, and that matters are not completely in his hands, as he needs to win his remaining two matches against Mouloudia on Saturday at the "July 5" stadium in Algeria, then Senegalese Tongeth in Cairo in the last round, provided Mouloudia lose his next match as well. Against Tunisia's Esperance, who decided its qualification since the previous stage.
Zamalek ranks third in Group D with two points, while Esperance tops with 10 points, ahead of Mouloudia with eight points, and finally Tongaith with one point.
The French coach of "White Castle" Patrice Carteron hopes to pass this matter successfully, indicating in statements to the club's official website that he took over the task in difficult circumstances, and that "the players' psychological condition was not good."
He continued, "My goal is to make the players love and enjoy playing football, because I found things difficult after my return."
The Frenchman has elements that can successfully accomplish the mission with goalkeeper Mahmoud Jensh, and in defense Ahmed Eid and Hazem Imam, Tunisian midfielder Ferjani Sassi and Ahmed Sayed "Zizou" and Moroccan wing Ashraf Bencharki and Youssef Ibrahim "Obama".
In the first group, Al-Ahly looks forward to continuing to strive for its tenth title in Al-Sanabha in history, when it faces a difficult confrontation against its Sudanese host Al-Merrikh on Saturday in Khartoum.
Al-Ahly ranks second in the group with seven points, behind Simba, the Tanzanian leader, with ten points, Vita Club, third with four points, while Al-Merrikh is in fourth place with one point.
South African Horn Club coach Pitso Mosimane was keen to raise the morale of his players, and demanded that they win the title alone.
He told the club's website: "We will go to the match in order to achieve 3 goals, deciding to qualify and continue searching for the top of the group, and sending a message to competitors that Al-Ahly is seeking to win inside or outside its stadium."
Follow our latest local and sports news, and the latest political and economic developments via Google news