Soccer Football - Egyptian Premier League - Al Ahly v Enppi - Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt - August 9, 2020 Al Ahly's Geraldo in action with Ennpi's Karim Fouad REUTERS
Hit by Ramadan Sobhi's shocking move, Ahly will be looking for a win on Friday when they face El-Intag El-Harbi in a league game at El-Salam Stadium.
The Red Devils are firm favourites to win the domestic league, appearing unbeatable as they chalked up 16 straight wins, only for Alexandria-based club Smouha to snap that run with a 1-1 draw in March before defeating Enppi 2-0 in the league restart on Sunday.
A few days later, Ahly saw a troubled day on Wednesday when they announced that their on-loan classy winger Sobhi informed the club that he would sign for fellow Egyptian side FC instead.
Over the past two weeks, Ahly had been in intensive talks with Premiership side Huddersfield to make Sobhi's loan deal permanent. They announced they are close to deciding the matter before Wednesday's surprising announcement.
The Red Devils will be looking for a win to restore calm and reassure their supporters about the future of the club without their star.
Theoretically, Ahly's mission against Intag is set to be easy given the huge difference between the two sides.
Ahly are on the driving seat of the league table with 52 points, while Intag lies eighth with 23 points.
The Red Devils seemed well prepared for the league and they appeared physically fit during their previous game. This is not the case with Intag, who suffered during their preparation for the resumption of the league.
Last month the military side announced that 18 members of the team (including team coach Mokhtar Mokhtar) tested positive for coronavirus and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) decided to adjourn their game against FC Masr, scheduled for last week to give the players more time to recover.
The team went back to training last week and they will have a difficult mission against league leaders.
"I know the game will be tough for us but we are ready for all challenges," Intag's coach Mokhtar told reporters on Thursday.
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