Zamalek strikers Bassem Morsi (R) and Nigerian Stanley Ohawuchi (L) (Photo: the club's official Facebook page)
Zamalek are expected to stroll past bottom side Sharqeya on Saturday as they seek to win another rescheduled Egyptian Premier League game to ensure they would face bitter foes Ahly in the best possible mood.
The White Knights are determined not to drop any points before facing their perennial rivals in Thursday's Cairo derby as they gradually improve under new coach Mohamed Helmi.
They defeated El-Entag El-Harby 1-0 on Wednesday for their third consecutive victory and another win over Sharqeya will put them eight points behind leaders Ahly with two matches in hand.
Should they overcome Ahly before a lengthy league break due to Egypt's participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, Zamalek will be in pole position to overtake the title holders at the summit when the competition resumes in February.
But before then, they will have to make sure there will not be any troubles against Sharqeya, who are at the bottom of the table with eight points from 15 games.
"We should not underestimate them. It's very important to claim all three points before meeting Ahly," Helmi said on Zamalek's official website.
Zamalek will miss a number of key players against Sharqeya after some looked to have deliberately incurred third yellow cards against El-Entag to avoid the risk of missing the anticipated clash against Ahly.
Mahmoud Hamdi, a promising defender who has quickly won over the team's fans following his summer arrival, fellow centre back Ali Gabr and midfield regular duo Tarek Hamed and Mahmoud Abdel-Ati are all suspended for the Sharqeya match.
Influential playmaker Ayman Hefni was also ruled out due to a hamstring complaint.
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