Zamalek will take on fourth-placed Masry on Tuesday at Borg El-Arab Stadium in a bid to maintain their fine starts of the season as both have been undefeated in the previous six rounds.

Following their 3-0 win against Talae El-Gaish, the White Knights have gone to the top of the Egyptian Premier League alongside defending Champions Ahly with 13 points.

Meanwhile Masry, who are led by former Ahly striker Aly Maher, have collected 10 points from six matches, winning in two matches and getting four draws.

Zamalek will be missing key striker Mostafa Mohamed, who is on the verge of a move to French side Saint Etienne, and Tunisia midfielder Ferjani Sassi, who is in the middle of a saga over his contract renewal.

Moroccan forward Hamid Ahadad has been left out of the team for the second game in a row due to injury, as was right-back Hazem Emam.

“Excluding me from Masry’s game wasn’t because of an injury, the coach decided to rest me given the succession of matches,” Emam explained to Zamalek’s official website.

“Our coach is using the rotation strategy in some particular positions in the team to handle the pressure of the large number of matches, to keep the players away from catching injuries,” Zamalek skipper concluded.

Coach Jaime Pacheco has again included youth team forwards Osama Faisal and Hussein Faisal to back up striker Omar El-Said, who has been included in the squad despite being stretched off last Friday against El-Gaish after a knock.

Squad list:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed Abo Gabal, Mohamed Awaad.

Defenders: Mahmoud Alaa, Mohamed Abdel-Ghani, Mahmoud “El-Wensh” Hamdi, Abdallah Gomaa, Ahmed Abo El-Fotouh, Ahmed Eid, Hamza Mathlouthi.

Midfielders: Tarek Hamed, Emam Ashour, Eslam Gaber, Ahmed “Zizo” Sayed, Youssef “Obama” Ibrahim, Achraf Bencharki, Mahmoud “Shikabala” Abdel-Razik, Mohamed Ounajem, Hossam Ashraf.

Forwards: Osama Faisal, Omar El-Said, Hussein Faisal.

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