Zamalek defeated Orlando Pirates 2-1 in the third round of Africa Confederation Cup group stage (Photo: Ahmed Hassan)
Having ensured their progress to the last four with two matches to spare, Zamalek will be looking to qualify as Group B winners as they face Tunisia's Sfaxien away from home on Sunday.
Zamalek joined Orlando Pirates in the semis after the South African outfit defeated Congo's AC Leopards 2-0 on Saturday, with both sides vying for a top-place finish. Orlando have 12 points, three clear of Zamalek who will be eyeing all three points against Sfaxien, whom they defeated 1-0 in Cairo in June.
The White Knights will be also hoping to make light of their absences this time around, having failed to cope with similar conditions in their 1-0 loss at Congo's Leopards a fortnight ago.
Having paid the price of an unimpressive goalkeeping from reserve goalie Mohamed Abo-Gabal in the Leopards' defeat, the Whites, who go into the game with an injury-plagued 17-man squad, will welcome Egypt first-choice Ahmed El-Shennawi who was rested for the last three games.
Whether El-Shennawi or Mahmoud 'Gennesh' would stand between the sticks remains to be seen, with the latter proving instrumental in taking Zamalek to the Egypt Cup semis after saving two crucial penalties in the shootout win at Alexandria's Ittihad.
But it is the defense where Zamalek could be struggling, with key center-back Mohamed Koffi out due to automatic suspension and full-back Hazem Emam and versatile defender Omar Gaber absent, leaving the right-back slot empty.
Emam, who was quite reliable this season in his right-back role, is out due to a calf problem that would sideline him for up two weeks.
Gaber, on the other hand, is absent for an entirely different reason – having flown to Bordeaux to undergo trial at the Ligue 1 side, who are expected to table an official bid for the defender in the upcoming period.
As a result, midfielder Ahmed Tawfik is now likely to fill in the right back slot after occupying the role in the Egypt Cup win over Ittihad.
On the opposite side of the pitch, Zamalek are left only with right-footed Hamada Tolba to assume the left-back role, with new-signing Mohamed Adel Gomaa injured as fellow full-back Sherif Alaa was not registered in the club's African roster.
Going forward, tricky winger Mostafa Fathi also misses out due to a hamstring complaint. His absence could mean on-loan Basel midfielder Ahmed Hamoudi could finally make his Zamalek debut.
Already-eliminated Sfaxien eye win over Zamalek
Bottom side Sfaxien missed out on finishing among the top two after collecting only a single point in their first four games.
The Tunisians also enter the game on the back of a 2-1 domestic cup defeat to Etoile du Sahel, unlike the Cairo side who made it to their domestic cup's semi-finals last week.
Sfaxien's cup exit lead to speculation as to the future of manager Paolo Duarte, who was obliged to hold a training session in the absence of fans in fear of their furious reactions ahead of the Zamalek fixture.
Even so, Portuguese boss Duarte said he excuses the fans admitting that they had all the right to be angry with their team's recent results, while stressing that they will eye a win over Zamalek in an attempt to reconcile with the club's supporters.
"I could well understand the reason behind the fans' anger, they have the right to be furious with the team," Duarte said.
"We will be looking forward to beating Zamalek and pleasing our fans again, despite the result having no impact on our qualification chances.
"But still we will play for a win, although Zamalek are a strong side who boast quality players."
Zamalek play in their first-ever Confederation Cup campaign, as they aim to win the African title that was claimed by arch-rivals Ahly last season.
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