One month after losing the Champions League final to Esperance de Tunis, Egyptian side Ahly will kick off their campaign in the new edition of the prestigious competition on Friday when they face they face Ethiopian side Jimma Aba Jifar in the first leg of the round of 32 at Alexandria's Borg El-Arab Stadium.

On paper, Ahly's mission will not be difficult given the huge difference between the eight-time African champions and their opponents, who are making their first appearance in the Champions League.

Ahly's only fear is their numerous absences, as the Cairo giants will play on Thursday with a limited squad that includes only 16 players.

With many injuries in their backline, Ahly have only three defenders in their squad; a real headache for coach interim-coach Mohamed Youssef, who will be forced to play Thursday's clash without many key players.

Ahly's Moroccan striker Walid Azaro, who is under a two-match ban, will also miss the game, leaving international striker Marwan Mohsen as the sole choice for Youssef in the frontline.

"The Jifar match is a difficult one, especially after numerous absences. We want to achieve a positive result to make our mission easier in the return match," Youssef told Ahly's official website on Wednesday.

"We deal with every match separately. We studied the Ethiopian team well to get well-prepared for the match."

Under the guidance of Youssef, who replaced French coach Patrice Carteron last month, Ahly restored their winning ways after claiming three consecutive victories in the Egyptian league, lifting the club to the seventh place with 20 points, 15 points behind leaders Zamalek, but they still have five matches on their hands.

"I asked my players to fully concentrate on the continental match and to forget about the domestic competition. I have full confidence in the players’ ability to achieve a positive result," the Ahly coach concluded.

Ahly are bidding for the ninth Champions League title in their history and the first since 2013, when they nabbed their eighth trophy.